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THE  GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE 
LIBRARY. 


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THE 


Gentleman's  Magazine 

Library: 


BEING 


A  CLASSIFIED   COLLECTION   OF   THE   CHIEF   CONTENTS   OF 
THE  GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE  FROM  1731  TO  1868. 


EDITED   BY 

GEORGE    LAURENCE    GOMME,    F.S.A. 


ARCHEOLOGY:  PART  I. 


BOSTON 

HOUGHTON,     MIFFLIN     AND     COMPANY 

New  York:    11  East  Seventeeth  Street 


INTRO  D  UCTION. 


-»xx«- 


THIS  volume  begins  a  new  section  of  the  vast  quantity  of 
interesting  and  valuable  material  printed  in  the  old  Gentle- 
man! s  Magazine^  and  1  venture  to  think  that  there  are  many  who 
will  be  glad  to  have  before  them  in  a  collected  form  these  hitherto 
scattered  papers  on  prehistoric  and  early  historic  archaeology.  Some 
of  them  are  the  work  of  scientific  archaeologists.  It  is  important, 
however,  to  bear  in  mind  that  many  of  these  contributions  do  not 
meet  the  requirements  of  modern  science ;  they  are  disfigured  by 
theories  never  very  profound,  and  chiefly  connected  with  the  Druids, 
to  whom  all  objects  not  historic  seem  to  have  been  referred  for  an 
origin,  except  perhaps  the  amusing  instance  recorded  on  p.  142, 
Finally,  they  are  not  always  complete  or  exhaustive.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  important  to  science  to  know  where  archaeological 
discoveries,  however  fragmentary  and  apparently  insignificant,  have 
been  found ;  to  know  the  condition  of  certain  well-known  monu- 
ments at  particular  dates ;  to  know  what  the  treasure-seeker  and  un- 
scientific explorer  have  done  in  the  past  to  plunder  or  injure  objects 
which  in  these  days  are  of  surpassing  importance.  Many  deplorable 
instances  of  destruction  occur  in  the  following  pages.  Scientific  men 
have  frequently  lamented  the  want  of  support  which  the  Government 
gives  to  the  exploration  and  description  of  the  archaeological  remains 
of  this  country ;  but  in  the  following  pages  it  would  seem  that  they -have 
to  lament  also  that  the  officers  of  the  Government  have  occasionally 
acted  as  iconoclasts.  The  Ordnance  Survey  Department,  by  whom 
so  much  might  have  been  accomplished  with  very  little  labour  and 
expense,  have  succeeded  in  driving  their  station-posts  into  the  tumuli 


vi  Introduction. 


and  barrows  of  the  Cleveland  district  (see  p.  237),  just  as  they 
recently  placed  their  "  bench-marks  "  on  the  stones  and  crosses  of 
Cornwall  (see  "  Proc.  of  Society  of  Antiquaries,"  vol.  x.,  1885,  p.  259.) 
Perhaps  the  worst  kind  of  vandalism  is  that  recorded  in  the 
magazine  for  1788,  p.  11 17,  as  follows : 

"  At  General  Conway's,  Park  Place,  a  new  structure  is  reared — a 
Druid  temple,  sent  piecemeal  from  the  States  of  Jersey,  where  it  was 
lately  found  by  the  Governor,  General  Conway,  as  new  ground  was 
raising  for  their  defence.  The  magnitude  of  the  stones  is  such  that 
the  mechanic  wonders.  Those  who  look  to  objects  higher  than  are 
attainable  by  the  mechanical  powers  will  not  here  look  in  vain." 

But  bad  as  all  this,  I  think  it  is  qualified  somewhat  by  a  magnifi- 
cent testimony  which  is  borne  to  the  influence  of  such  a  good 
antiquary  as  Dr.  Borlase.  On  p.  90  we  read,  and  it  is  well  worth 
reprinting  in  this  preface  : 

"  The  doctor's  fame  was  so  great,  and  so  much  was  he  respected, 
that  many  probably  shrank  from  attempting  to  follow  in  the  same 
path ;  and  so  implicit  was  the  faith  in  him  that  it  was  considered  he 
had  described  everything  in  the  county  worthy  of  notice.  A  practical 
illustration  of  this  sentiment  occurred  not  long  ago.  In  a  western 
parish  of  Cornwall,  some  labourers  were  employed  in  enclosing  waste 
land,  when  they  came  across  a  stone  circle,  and  suspecting  it  to  be 
akin  to  others  popularly  held  in  veneration,  they  hesitated  to  destroy 
it,  and  appealed  for  advice  to  a  mine  captain,  who  decided  that  if 
noticed  in  Borlase  it  should  be  preserved,  if  not,  it  should  be 
demolished.  The  doctor's  "  Antiquities  "  being  referred  to,  and  no 
mention  of  the  circle  found,  it  was  at  once  cleared  away.' 

Of  course  the  practical  result  was  deplorable  enough,  but  the  senti- 
ment recorded  does  honour  to  the  Cornish  labourers,  and  only 
heightens  the  regret  all  must  feel  that  no  one  in  all  Cornwall  had 
been  found  to  continue  Dr.  Borlase's  work.  Now,  however,  the 
causes  of  this  regret  are  being  rapidly  removed.  The  Rev.  W.  C. 
Lukis's  noble  book  on  the  Prehistoric  Stone  Monuments  of  the  British 
Isles :  Cortiwall,  is  the  first  instalment  of  what  must  ultimately  prove 
of  incalculable  value  ;  and  speaking  particularly  of  Cornwall,  there 
are  good  antiquaries  now  who  are  getting  information  together  which 
only  local  authorities  can  obtain,  the  Penzance  Antiquarian  Society 
being  specially  active,  the  Rev.  S.  Rundle  having  made  a  complete 
list  of  the  antiquities  of  Godolphin,  and  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Lach-Szyrma, 
in  his  presidential  address  for  18S5-1S86,  having  made  a  strong  appeal 


Introduction.  vii 


for  the  compilation  of  similar  lists  for  all  the  parishes  of  Cornwall 
(see  Anttqtiary,  1886,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  33). 

It  has  been  extremely  difficult  to  classify  upon  a  satisfactory  basis 
all  the  papers  reprinted  in  this  volume.  Some  from  insufficient  data, 
some  from  possibly  false  conclusions,  others  from  an  indefinite  or 
meagre  description,  no  doubt  more  properly  belong  to  other  periods 
of  archaeology;  while  in  such  examples  as  that  given  on  p.  34 
I  have  thought  it  best  on  general  grounds  to  include  the  survival 
among  the  archaic  originals.  Unless  I  had  taken  upon  myself  to 
investigate  the  accuracy  of  each  contribution  according  to  the  latest 
researches,  I  do  not  know  how  these  difficulties  could  have  been 
overcome ;  and  the  plan  of  these  reprinted  collections  from  the  old 
Gentkman's  Magazine  does  not  allow  and  does  not  require  such  an 
extensive  editorial  labour.  On  the  other  hand,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
affirm  that  these  drawbacks  to  strictly  scientific  accuracy  will  not 
affect  injuriously  the  general  value  of  the  volume ;  and,  moreover, 
they  are  to  a  considerable  extent  incidental  to  such  an  undertaking 
as  the  present.  I  always  let  each  contributor  to  the  old  magazine 
speak  for  himself  in  his  own  spelling,  under  his  own  title,  and  it  is 
thus  only,  I  submit,  that  the  scientific  worker  will  gauge  the  true 
value  of  what  is  here  collected  together  for  his  use. 

Before  passing  from  these  general  considerations,  it  is  not  un- 
important to  note  that,  while  with  the  four  folk-lore  volumes  which 
have  been  already  issued,  most  of  the  important  papers  belonged  to 
the  early  issues  of  the  magazine,  where  folk-lore  is  recorded  as  items 
of  curiosity  and  amusement,  the  important  papers  on  archaeology 
occur  chiefly  in  the  later  issues.  Early  archaeological  contributions 
of  any  value  are  rare ;  and  as  we  get  down  to  later  years,  the  interest 
and  importance  of  the  subject  increases  rapidly,  until  at  the  date  we 
conclude  we  are  fairly  launched  into  the  midst  of  great  archaeological 
activity,  only  to  be  stopped,  so  far  as  the  Gentlemaji s  Magazine  is 
concerned,  by  a  discontinuance  of  the  old  plan  of  publication. 

The  first  section  is  devoted  to  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 
Fossil  antiquities  form  the  opening  portion  of  the  section.  The 
paper  on  "  Submarine  Forests  on  the  Norfolk  Coast"  (p.  5)  is  one  of 
some  considerable  interest,  throwing  additional  light  upon  the  state- 
ment made  by  Professor  BoydDawkins  in  his  Cave  Himting  (p.  263), 
that  "  the  area  of  Great  Britain  was  greater  in  the  prehistoric  age 
than  now,  since  a  plain  extended  seawards  from  the  coast-line, 
nearly  everywhere,  supporting  a  dense  forest  of  Scotch  fir,  oak,  birch. 


viii  hitrodziction. 


and  elder,  the  relics  of  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  beds  of  peat  and 
the  stumps  of  the  trees  near  low-water  mark  on  most  of  our  shores. 
And  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  forest  extended  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  present  sea  margin,  from  the  large  size  of  the  trunks 
of  the  trees."  The  mention  of  the  discovery  of  a  flint  axe-head 
being  embedded  in  one  of  these  submerged  forest  trees  (p.  6)  shows, 
too,  that  ancient  men  trod  these  now  hidden  spots.  This  paper  is 
followed  by  those  on  extinct  animals  in  Ireland  and  fossil  animal 
remains,  a  subject  that  may  be  followed  up  by  a  study  of  Owen's 
British  Fossil  Mammals  and  Birds,  Harting's  British  Animals  Extinct 
within  Historic  Times,  Watkin's  Gleanings  from  the  Natural  History 
of  the  Ancients,  and  Hehn's  Wanderings  of  Plants  and  Animals, 
lately  so  admirably  translated  into  English  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Stallybrass. 
We  next  come  to  the  important  section  on  "  Cave  Remains."  Pro- 
fessor Boyd  Dawkins's  well-known  work  on  Cave  Hmting  is  the 
principal  authority  on  this  subject.  On  p.  13  he  says  :  "  The  first  bone 
cave  systematically  explored  in  this  country  was  that  discovered  by 
Mr.  Whidbey,  in  the  Devonian  limestone  at  Oreston,  near  Plymouth, 
in  1816  (Phil.  Trans.,  181 7,  p.  176)."  Although  I  suppose  the 
instances  reported  to  the  Gentleman' s  Magazine  in  1785,  1805,  and 
i8io  cannot  in  any  way  be  considered  as  systematic  explorations,  it  is 
interesting  to  note  these  early  examples  of  cave-hunting,  and  as 
Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  does  not  mention  in  his  valuable  work  all 
the  instances  given  on  pp.  22-36,  I  have  thought  it  would  be  instructive 
to  add  in  the  notes  a  tabular  statement  of  cave  explorations  mentioned 
in  this  volume  compared  with  those  given  by  Professor  Dawkins. 
Upon  this  most  interesting  subject  I  may  also  refer  to  Buckland's 
Reliquice  Diluvice,  and  to  a  very  important  work  published  in  1884, 
The  Bojie  Caves  of  Ojcow  in  Pola?id,  by  Professor  Romer. 

I  have  ventured  to  call  the  next  section  Early  Historic  Remains. 
"  Ancient  Timber  Foundations "  is  my  own  title  for  what  I  have 
thought  might  prove  to  be  remains  of  Lake  Dwellings,  though  there 
is  not  much  to  support  that  supposition  from  the  evidence  of  the 
various  writers.  Still,  the  remains  here  reported  (pp.  39-43)  may  be 
suggestive  of  what  may  be  hoped  for  from  future  explorations.  The 
paper  "  On  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ancient  Britons  "  (pp.  43-51)  is 
prefatory  to  the  succeeding  record  of  the  finding  of  "  Ancient  Boats 
and  Canoes"  (pp.  51-57).  All  of  these  finds  are  not  British,  though 
probably  those  instances  of  boats  being  hollowed  out  of  a  single  tree 
may  be  referred  to  pre-Roman  times.      The  other  instances,  though 


Introdzictioii.  ix 


doubtless  much  more  modern,  are  best  printed  here  I  think.  The 
subject  is  a  very  enticing  one,  and  has  of  late  years  been  of  much 
interest,  owing  to  the  finding  of  an  ancient  Viking's  ship  in 
Norway,  in  1880.  A  description  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Afitiquary,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  254-256,  and  Mr.  J.  Harris  Stone  reported  the 
find  to  the  British  Association.  From  this  report  I  think  the  following 
quotation  may  be  made,  as  it  illustrates  the  finds  mentioned  in  this 
volume  : 

"  Instead  of  an  antiquated,  rudely  constructed,  and  roughly  finished 
vessel,  with  primitively  drawn  lines,  it  was  a  smart,  trim-looking  craft, 
built  on  what  a  sailor  would  call  beautiful  lines,  and  was  admirably 
adapted  as  well  for  speed  as  for  general  seaworthiness.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  of  such  a  fresh-looking  and  well-preserved  ship  being, 
as  it  was  undoubtedly,  about  a  thousand  years  old.  He  feared  that 
the  discovery  of  this  ancient  galley  had  not  given  them  any  argument 
in  favour  of  the  theory  of  the  growing  superiority  of  mankind  in  all 
branches  of  knowledge  and  industry.  The  name  of  the  Viking 
owner  of  this  ship  was  not  known.  All  that  could  be  said  was  that 
he  lived  at  some  time  during  the  period  from  the  end  of  the  eighth 
to  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  and  that  when  he  died  he  was 
buried  in  his  vessel,  which  was  drawn  up  on  land,  and  had  a  mound 
of  earth  thrown  over  it,  which,  luckily  for  posterity,  consisted  of  blue 
clay.  The  vessel  was  now  at  Christiana.  It  was  excavated  at 
Gogstad,  Sandefjord,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  present  seashore. 
In  this  ship  the  sepulchral  chamber  in  which  the  Viking's  body  had 
been  deposited  was  situated  amidships.  It  was  tent-like  in  shape, 
made  of  logs  placed  side  by  side,  leaning  and  meeting  on  a  ridge, 
the  side  running  parallel  with  the  main  axis  of  the  ship.  The  mound 
appeared  to  have  been  entered,  no  doubt  for  the  purpose  of  plunder, 
for  none  of  the  Viking  weapons  were  found,  and  only  a  few  of  his 
bones  were  discovered.  There  were  found  in  the  sepulchral  chamber 
the  bones  and  feathers  of  a  peacock,  the  bones  of  a  little  dog,  some 
fish-hooks,  and  several  mountings  to  belts  and  harness.  Round  about 
the  ship  were  discovered  the  bones  of  some  nine  or  ten  horses  and 
dogs,  which  had  been  sacrificed  at  the  time  of  burial.  The  vessel 
was  77  feet  11  inches  in  length  between  the  rabbets  at  the  gunwale, 
and  at  the  widest  part  1 6  feet  or  1 7  feet  across.  From  the  top  of 
the  keel  to  the  gunwale  amidships  she  was  5  feet  9  inches  deep. 
She  would  draw  probably  not  4  feet  of  water,  and  she  had  twenty 
ribs.  She  was  clinker  built,  and  her  planks  slightly  overlapped,  like 
slates  on  the  roof  of  a  house.  Her  lines  were  calculated  for  swift- 
ness as  well  as  for  seaworthiness.  The  planks  and  timber  of  the 
frame  were  fastened  together  with  withes  of  tree  roots.  The  bent 
timbers  seemed  to  be  naturally  grown,  and  not  artificially  bent.     The 


Introduction. 


boards  of  the  sides  were  of  good,  sound,  well-seasoned,  and  selected 
oak,  about  i\  inches  in  thickness.  They  were  smoothly  planed,  and 
firmly  riveted  together  by  iron  rivets,  which  had  been  carefully  clinched 
on  either  side.  There  were  also  a  few  oaken  bolts  near  the  upper 
part  of  the  sides.  He  could  find  no  trace  of  a  saw  having  been 
used  anywhere  about  the  vessel.  The  planks  had  their  edges 
moulded.  The  mouldings  consisted  of  indented  lines  running  down 
the  length  of  the  planks  near  the  lower  margins.  Bow  and  stern 
were  of  similar  shape.  They  were  painted,  and  must  have  risen  a 
considerable  distance  out  of  the  water.  The  top  of  each  was  broken, 
so  that  it  could  not  now  be  determined  whether  she  originally  carried 
a  figure-head  or  not.  The  keel  was  deep,  and  made  of  thick  oak 
beams.  He  could  not  see  whether  any  metal  keel  had  been  fastened 
to  the  bottom.  An  iron  anchor  found  with  the  vessel  had  so  rusted 
away  that  it  could  not  be  preserved.  There  was  no  deck  to  the  galley, 
and  the  absence  of  seats  for  the  rowers  was  notable.  The  flooring 
could  be  lifted  to  allow  of  baling  out  water.  The  oars  were  20  feet 
long,  and  the  oar-holes,  sixteen  on  each  side,  had  slits  towards  the 
stern  of  the  vessel  to  allow  the  blade  to  pass  through  from  the  inside. 
The  most  interesting  thing  about  the  ship  was  the  rudder,  which  was 
on  the  starboard  side  a  foot  or  two  from  the  stern.  Starboard  was  a 
corruption  of  the  word  '  steerboard,'  which  no  doubt  owed  its  origin 
to  the  ancient  position  of  the  rudder,  as  in  this  galley.  This  rudder 
resembled  a  large  oar,  consisting  chiefly  of  blade  and  a  short  handle. 
It  was  fixed  not  to  the  side  of  the  boat  directly,  but  to  the  distal  end 
of  a  piece  of  conical  wood,  which  projected  about  a  foot  from  the 
vessel.  This  piece  of  wood  was  bored  dovv'n  its  length,  and  no 
doubt  a  rope  passing  through  it  secured  the  rudder  to  the  ship's 
side.  The  steering  was  effected  by  a  tiller  fixed  in  a  hole  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  handle  portion,  and  probably  also  by  a  rope 
fastened  at  the  lower  end  of  the  blade.  It  was  hoped  that  the  correct 
shape  of  this  galley,  which  was  photographed,  would  rapidly  circulate 
among  artists,  and  for  ever  put  an  end  to  the  curious  drawings  and 
paintings  of  the  Viking  galleys.  The  vessel  had  one  mast.  In  the 
mound  were  also  found  parts  of  three  small  oaken  boats,  generally 
like  the  galley  itself,  large  well-made  sheet  copper  caldron,  a  few  bed- 
steads like  those  used  in  Norway  in  the  present  day,  some  drinking- 
cups  and  tubs,  and  some  pieces  of  carved  and  painted  wood,  the  use 
of  which  is  uncertain.  Several  large  round  shields  of  thin  wood  were 
also  found.  These  could  not  have  been  for  defence,  but  must  have 
been  for  ornament.  A  landing-stage  made  of  oak  was  also  found  in 
the  mound.  The  surface  of  this  i)lank  is  carved  ornamentally,  to 
prevent  slipping,  and  many  on  seeing  the  photographs  and  diagrams 
would  turn  their  thoughts  to  the  Bayeux  tapestry  in  Normandy,  in 
which  were  numerous  representations  of  galleys  similar  to  the  one 
now  described.     The  discovery  of  this  galley  throws  a  flood  of  quite 


Introduction. 


XI 


unexpected  light  upon  a  period  of  history  which  is,  perhaps,  as  dark 
and  obscure  as  any  during  historic  times." 

The  remaining  portion  of  this  section  is  devoted  to  finds  of  stone 
and  bronze  implements — a  subject  that  has  become  well-known  through 
the  two  famous  works  of  Dr.  Evans,  Ancient  Stone  Impletnents  and 
Ajide7it  Bronze  Itnplements.  As  Dr.  Evans's  books  are  the  text-books 
on  the  subject,  I  have  thought  the  following  tables,  showing  the  places 
where  finds  recorded  in  the  following  pages  (pp.  57-76)  are  also 
mentioned  by  him,  would  be  useful. 


Ancient  Stone  and  Flint  Implements. 


Date  of 
Find. 

Pages  in 

Pages  in  Dr.  Evans's 

Place  where  Found. 

this 

"Ancient  Stone 

Volume. 

Implements." 

Brimington,  Derbyshire  (in  a  field)... 

1778 

60 

Boffington,    Hants    (in   marsh   land 

called  Sickmarsh)  ... 

1783 

61 

Near  Ripon 

1783 

61 

Cumberland,  north  of  (in  a  rivulet) .. 

1789 

59 

Guthrie,  Forfarshire  ... 

1797 

62 

316 

Wolfardes worthy,  Devon 

1797 

63 

Clayton  Windmill,  Sussex    ... 

1S05 

64 

68 

Garthorpe,  Leicester 

1815 

71 

Claremont,  near  St.  Andrew's 

1823 

64 

Sutton  Courtney,  near  Abingdon 

1826 

75 

347 

Blackaddes,  Berwick 

1831 

191 

Gristhorpe,  Yorkshire           

1S34 

157 

252,  355 

Near  Filey,  Yorkshire 

1835 

161 

Barkisland,  Halifax 

1838 

72 

Norfolk  coast  (in  submerged  tree)    .. 

1845 

6 

Driffield,  Yorkshire 

1862 

65 

252,  294,  383,  409 

East  Bolton,  Northumberland,  newly 

ploughed  moorland  on  left  bank  of 

River  Aln 

1863 

65 

Hauxley,  Northumberland 

1863 

65 

Kyloe,  Northumberland 

1863 

65 

Castleton,  Yorkshire 

1863 

66 

Danby,  North  Moors            

1S63 

66-69 

189 

Cleveland,  Yorkshire 

1861-63 

213,       226, 
229,  237, 
248,  etc. 

Yorkshire  Wolds       

1866 

114.  123 

69,  80,  199,  223,  236, 
262,  265,  270,  273, 
277,  286,  etc. 

Caithness 

1866 

178 

118,  197,  198,  263, 
346,  351,  398,404 

Xll 


Introduction. 


Ancient  Bronze  Implements. 


Place  where  Found. 


Copgrove,  Yorkshire 

Burrington     Coomb,    near    Stanton 

Drew 
Hollingbury,  near  Brighton... 

River  Lark,  near  Bury-St.-Edmunds 
At  bottom  of  River  Isis 
Common     between     Fulboum     and 
Wilbraham... 

Rosebery  Topping,  Yorkshire 

Whitfield,  near  Hereford 
Gristhorpe,  Yorkshire 


Nockavrinnion,  Antrim 
Northwold,       near      Stoke 
Norfolk        


Ferry, 


Laugharne,  Caermarthenshire 

Rayne,  Essex... 

Churwell,  York 

Cxenham,  near  Exeter 

Romford 

Colleonard,  Banffshire 

Cleveland,  Yorkshire 

Fyvie,  Aberdeenshire 

Standlake  and  Yarnton,  O.^fordshire 

Saverough,  Orkney    ... 

Swinton,  Yorkshire   ... 

Yorkshire  Wolds        

Caithness  (Yarrows)  ... 


"HnfA  nf 

Page  in 

Pages  in  Dr.  Evans's 

Find. 

this 

"  Ancient  Bronze 

Volume. 

Implements." 

1789 

284 

1805 

22-23 

1S25 

73>  147 

76,  IIS,  378,  386, 

390,  464 

1826 

73 

282 

1826 

75 

1830 

73 

279,  282,  320,  340, 
464 

1S31 

202 

129,  172,  174,  178, 
397,  424,  468 

1833 

58 

1834 

154.   156, 
159 

228 

1835 

74 

183S 

139 

270,  282,  305,  314, 
46s 

1S42 

193 

1844 

74 

1846 

74 

1846 

74 

1852 

143 

2>^,  172,  424,  467 

1857 

76 

56,58 

1861-63 

226,  244 

447,  468 

1862 

189 

1862 

30 1  >  303 

380 

1862 

1S2 

1863 

167 

1 866 

115,   118, 
119,  121 

391,  473 

1S66 

178 

The  next  section  is  devoted  to  "  Sepulchral  Remains  " — a  subject 
that  is  perhaps  the  best  known  of  all  early  archaeological  studies.  Sir 
Richard  Colt  Hoare  and  Mr.  Cunnington  in  Ancient  Wiltshire,  Mr. 
Bateman  in  Ten  Years'  Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Grave-hills  in 
the  Counties  of  Derby,  Stafford,  a?id  York,  Canon  Greenwell  in 
British  Barrows :  an  Examination  of  Sepulchral  Mounds,  and  Pro- 
fessor RoUeston,  Dr.  Thurnham,  and  Dr.  Beddoe  in  various  works, 
have  brought  together  a  mass  of  information,  which  enables  the 
student  to  proceed  from  the  "  digging  "  and  "  discovery  "  stage  to  that 
of  classification  and  systematic  study.      The  Gloucestershire  barrows 


Intj'oduction.  xiii 


described  in  pp.  130,  131  can  be  compared  with  Mr.  (i.  B.  Witt's 
admirable  archaeological  handbook  to  Gloucestershire — a  book  which 
ought  to  have  its  counterpart  in  all  the  counties.  The  finds  recorded 
in  the  Gejitleman' s  Magazifte  are  of  interest,  as  they  mention  very 
often  the  first  exploration  into  some  barrows,  and  they  at  all  events 
place  on  record  some  additional  information  which  must  be  in  many 
ways  valuable. 

The  final  section  of  the  book  I  have  named  "  Encampments, 
Earthworks,  etc."  It  is  intended  to  include  those  archaeological 
remains  which,  either  from  their  size,  peculiarity  of  construction,  or 
great  extent  in  number  or  area,  afford  evidence,  not  only  upon  the 
burials,  but  as  to  the  settlement  of  the  early  races  of  this  island. 
It  opens  with  an  anonymous  paper  on  "Traces  of  our  Remote 
Ancestors,"  which  is  followed  up  by  the  same  writer  by  papers  on 
"  Diggings  into  Celtic  Grave-Places  in  the  Cleveland  District  of 
Yorkshire."  These  papers  are  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Atkinson,  and  their 
reprint  will  be  recognised  by  all  antiquaries  as  a  great  boon.  Mr. 
Atkinson  wished  to  give  me  some  notes  pointing  out  that  though  his 
facts  still  stand,  some  of  his  inferences  must  now  be  modified ;  but 
other  literary  labours  intervened,  and  the  papers  stand  here  as  they 
were  originally  printed.  The  following  notes,  however,  Mr.  Atkinson 
has  kindly  favoured  me  with,  and  I  gladly  avail  myself  of  his  per- 
mission to  print  them  : 

Page  202.     End  of  paragraph  requires  much  modification, 

„  End  of  second  paragraph.     I  have  found  7nany  bone 

pins,  a  perforated  ditto,  a  curious  bone  fastener,  etc. 
Page  204.     The  lower  half  of  the  page,  from  "  All  these  sets,"  etc., 

is  erroneous  in  view  and  mistaken  as  to  the  facts. 
Page  205.     All,  as  I  think  now,  mistaken. 

Page  206.     The  tumulus  is  as  much  sepulchral  as  any  other,  and 
had  Jio  connection  with  the  religious,  etc. 

The  settlement  at  Westerdale  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  a 
group  of  pits,  created  by  digging  down  (say,  about  iioo  or 
1 150  at  the  earliest)  on  to  the  ironstone  ("main  seam"),  10 
or  II  feet  deep!!  Snowdon  Nab  ditto,  except  that  the  stone 
worked  there  was  not  the  "main  seam."  Probably  (I  have  not 
ascertained  it)  Stone-haggs  is  just  the  same  :  there  are  large  iron- 
stone works  in  Rosedale  just  by. 
We  then  pass  on  to  the  discovery  of  camps  and  mounds  of  various 
descriptions  and  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  all  of  which  are  of 


xiv  Introduction. 


interest  to  those  who  care  to  dip  into  these  subjects.  They  do  not 
require  any  comment  here,  because  in  the  various  archaeological 
societies — and  nearly  all  the  counties  now  possess  some  organization 
of  the  sort — they  are  frequently  discussed  and  visited. 

One  of  the  most  important  works  upon  the  results  of  a  systematic 
examination  of  the  barrows  and  tumuli  of  Great  Britain  is  the  well- 
known  Crania  Briianfiica,  by  Mr.  J.  Barnard  Davis  and  Dr.  Thurn- 
ham,  published  between  1856  and  1865.  In  October,  1853  (p.  386), 
Mr.  Davis  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  on  the 
subject  of  collecting  and  preserving  ancient  skulls,  and .  as  his 
pregnant  words  of  caution  are  still,  alas  !  much  needed,  it  will  be 
well  to  print  his  letter  here. 

"  The  proposed  *  Crania  Britannica.' 

"  Mr.  Urban, — In  the  preparation  of  the  '  Crania  Britannica,'  a 
"  projected  work  to  be  issued  by  private  subscription,  which  you  have 
"  honoured  with  a  very  brief  notice  in  the  number  of  your  magazine 
"  for  November  last,  p.  493,  the  collecting  of  skulls  of  various  ages 
"and  races  has  become  a  matter  of  great  importance — indeed,  a  very 
"pressing  need.  As  such  objects  are  met  with  in  most  parts  of  the 
"  kingdom,  but  are  commonly  thrown  aside  or  destroyed,  it  has  oc- 
"  curred  to  me  to  write  out  a  few  simple  directions,  which,  although 
"  rather  meagre,  may  prove  sufficient  to  save  them  for  use.  These,  at 
"the  suggestion  of  one  of  your  most  learned  contributors,  and  a  kind 
"  friend  to  our  undertaking,  I  beg  to  enclose.  It  would  give  me  the 
"  greatest  pleasure  to  give  any  additional  information  to  any  gentleman 
"possessed  of  such  objects  who  will  favour  me  with  a  communication. 

"Yours,  etc.  J.  Barnard  Davis. 

"Shelton,  Staffordshire,  Sept.  17,  1853." 

^^  Hints  for  Collecting  afid  Prcservijig  the  Bones  of  Ancient  Skulls. 

"The  remains  of  the  skeletons,  and  especially  the  skulls,  of  the  early 
"races  of  men  inhabiting  the  British  Islands,  have  become  objects  of 
"interest  to  those  who  have  made  them  their  particular  study.  It 
"unfortunately,  however,  happens  that  persons  engaged  in  opening 
"barrows,  and  making  excavations  for  antiquities,  even  those  well 
"  instructed  in  other  respects,  generally  fail  in  procuring  skulls  in  such 
"  a  state  as  to  be  of  any  use  for  purposes  of  science.  Attention  to  the 
"  following  brief  instruction  will  prevent  that  destruction  and  loss  of 
"  such  objects  which  too  usually  prevails.  It  must  be  recollected  that 
"  it  is  the  whole  of  the  bones  of  the  head  and  face,*"  including  lower 

*  The  slender  bones  of  the  nose,  when  remaining,  should  always  be  carefully 
retained  and  protected  from  injury ;  they  are  very  characteristic. 


Introdtictio7i.  xv 


'jaw  and  teeth,  which  the  anatomist  requires  for  his  researches,  not  a 
'  few  fragments,  or  the  mere  brain-case  :  at  the  same  time,  where  the 
'  bones  are  fractured  or  disjointed,  if  every  fragment,  or  nearly  every 
'fragment,  be  recovered,  he  will  be  able  to  rejoin  them,  and 
're-construct  the  cranium. 

"  Whether  it  be  a  barrow,  cairn,  or  cemetery  of  any  kind  that  is 
'undergoing  examination,  as  soon  as  a  proximity  to  the  skeleton  is 
'  ascertained,  and  it  is  always  advisable  to  proceed  from  the  feet 
'towards  the  head,  the  pickaxe  and  shovel  should  be  laid  aside;  the 
'  stones  and  soil  must  be  carefully  removed  with  a  garden  trowel,  the 
'digger*  employed  by  entomologists,  and  the  hand,  so  as  to  expose 
'  the  head  perfectly. 

"No  attempt  should  even  now  be  made  to  lift  up  the  skull,  until 
'the  earth  has  been  cautiously  removed  all  round  it,  so  as  to  make  it 
'  entirely  free ;  it  may  then  be  gently  raised  up,  and  placed  upon  a 
'sheet  of  soft  paper,  the  superfluous  soil  picked  out,  the  bones 
'  wrapped  up  immediately,  and  the  package  tied  with  string. 

"  Where  the  skull  has  been  fractured  by  the  pressure  of  the  earth, 
'and  the  bones  of  the  face  crushed  and  displaced  (for  it  is  these 
'  which  yield  first,  yet  in  most  cases  they  are  merely  dislocated,  not 
'  destroyed),  every  fragment,  however  small,  and  every  tooth,  should 
'be  diligently  gathered  up,  and  the  whole  wrapped  in  a  sheet  of 
'paper,  as  before. 


"  '  All,  all  have  felt  Time's  mighty  wand, 
And,  brought  again  to  light, 
Defaced,  despoil'd,  can  scarce  withstand 
The  touch,  however  slight.' 

"  It  is  best  immediately  to  inscribe  on  these  packets  the  name  of  the 
"barrow,  and  a  number,  to  distinguish  each  skull  disinterred,  which 
"  may  at  first  be  done  with  a  pencil.  As  soon  as  possible  afterwards 
"this  should  be  written  in  ink,  and  the  same  number  marked  with  the 
"  pen  upon  the  skull,  or  on  two  or  three  of  the  fragments  where  it  is 
"  broken. 

"  In  all  cases  the  position  in  which  the  skeleton  lies  should  be 
"  accurately  observed  and  noted  down,  whether  extended  on  the  back  or 
"  side,  or  flexed,  that  is,  with  the  knees  drawn  up,  and  the  direction  of 
"  the  compass  in  which  the  head  is  laid.  The  relics  accompanying  the 
"body,  whether  urns,  implements,  weapons,  lamps,  coins,  etc.,  should 
"always  be  carefully  preserved,  as  they  frequently  indicate  the  people 
"and  the  period  to  which  the  interment  has  belonged. 

"  The  safest  mode  of  transmitting  ancient  skulls  is  to  pack  gently 
"  and  neatly  any  number  of  the  parcels,  made  in  the  manner  above 

*  Formed  of  a  piece  of  strong  iron  wire,  bent  nearly  into  a  semicircle  at  one 
end,  and  the  other  straight  extremity  being  fixed  into  a  wooden  handle.  The  point 
of  the  semicircular  end  should  be  spear-shaped. 


xvi  Introdtiction. 


*'  directed,  in  a  box  with  a  little  hay.    The  elasticity  of  this  substance 
"  is  a  perfect  protection  to  the  fragile  bones  during  carriage." 

I  have  not  inserted  any  of  the  numerous  reports  of  archaeological 
societies,  because  the  papers  will  be  found  in  the  transactions  of  those 
societies.  Besides  these  the  following  papers  are  not  printed,  as  they 
were  not,  in  my  judgment,  of  sufificient  value  : 

1762,  p.  155;  1787,  pp.  463,  781,  969,  1071  ;  1788,  pp.  31,  3S3, 
694,  952  ;  1792,  p.  25  ;  on  the  petrifaction  of  human  bones. 

1785,  pp.  191-193;  accurate  description  of  antiques  recommended 
by  a  barrowist. 

1799,  p.  iiy  ;  fossils  at  Guildford  [a  collection  carved  into  modern 
figures]. 

1807,  Part  II.,  p.  818;  Donovan's  Museum  of  Fossils. 

1813,  Part  I.,  pp.  499-500;  cave  [modern  hermit's]  discovered  in 
Standard  Hill,  Nottingham. 

1822,  Part  I.,  pp.  491-494  ;  the  wonders  of  the  antediluvian  cave. 

183T,  Part  I.,  pp.  20-22  ;  geological  effects  of  the  deluge. 

1832,  Part  I.,  pp.  15-16,  135-139;  British  geology. 

There  are  two  papers  which  I  left  out,  but  which  should  have  been 
included  in  the  notes.     Summarized,  they  are  as  follows  : 

1847,  Part  II.,  p.  526.  Workmen  engaged  in  excavating  the  bank 
of  the  river  at  Springfield,  near  Glasgow,  came  upon  a  wooden 
formation  at  a  depth  of  17  feet  below  the  present  level,  which  on 
being  fairly  dug  out  was  found  to  be  the  remains  of  a  canoe  made  of 
Scotch  oak,  in  one  piece,  and  undoubtedly  formed  by  scoping  out 
the  trunk  of  a  very  large  tree.  Its  length  is  upwards  of  1 1  feet ;  the 
prow  is  sloped,  but  the  stern  is  of  heavy  uncouth  formation.  It  is 
about  18  inches  in  breadth,  and  of  proportionate  depth,  and  when 
afloat  on  the  water  would  be  capable  of  accommodating  two  or  three 
persons.     It  was  found  in  a  bed  of  sand. 

1855,  Part  I.,  pp.  630,  631.  An  extract  from  the  Illustrated 
Zondofi  News  giving  an  account  of  the  opening  of  the  great  tumulus 
at  St.  Weonard's,  Hereford,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Wright. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  plates  accompanying  the  text  of  the 
papers  in  this  volume  could  not  have  been  reproduced ;  but  that  was 
not  possible,  and  it  can  only  be  remedied  by  collectors  inserting  in 
these  volumes  the  original  plates.     The  second  part  of  this  Archaeo- 


Introduction.  xvii 


logical  series  will  deal  with  Stone  Circles,  Miscellaneous  Objects  of 
British  Antiquity,  and  Anglo-Saxon  Antiquities. 

The  writers  in  the  present  volume  include  some  of  the  best  known 
antiquaries.  To  Mr.  C.  Roach-Smith  I  must  acknowledge  my  special 
indebtedness  for  the  very  kind  manner  in  which  he  met  my  request  to 
use  the  valuable  communications  he  was  wont  to  send  up  to  the  old 
Gentleman^ s  Magazine.  Not  only  did  he  say  "  Yes,"  but  he  offered 
most  generously  to  send  me  any  annotations  I  might  require,  an 
offer  which,  when  I  come  to  the  volume  on  Roman  remains  in  Great 
Britain,  will  be  of  immense  service  to  a  large  range  of  readers,  for 
probably  no  living  antiquary  is  so  well  qualified  to  speak  on  this 
subject.  Mr.  Roach-Smith's  sanction  is  all  the  more  generous  because 
he  has  been  urged  by  his  friends  to  reprint  his  various  communications 
to  the  Geiitleniaji^s  Magazine^  and  if  I  reprint  them  in  these  collections 
it  may  upset  his  plan.  To  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Atkinson  I  have  a  similar 
acknowledgment  to  make.  To  my  request  for  permission,  a  ready 
and  kindly  assent  was  given,  though  he  had  before  him  a  letter  from 
Canon  Greenwell  which  said,  "  With  regard  to  the  republication  of 
your  papers  in  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  I  should  very  much  urge 
you  to  do  it ;  but  I  should  somewhat  enlarge  and  annotate  the  first 
account,  and  some  figures  should  accompany  the  text.  You  should 
also  add  the  record  (edited)  of  Anderson's  diggings,  so  as  to  make 

the  account  as  full  as  possible Would  it  not  be  well  also  to  add 

the  record  of  the  Robin  Hood's  Bay  diggings,  which  would  fitly  fall 
into  the  same  category  as  your  own  ?"  The  names  of  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare, 
Thomas  Wright,  Canon  Greenwell,  Dawson  Turner,  are  too  well 
known  to  archseologists  for  there  to  be  any  need  of  doing  more  than 
mentioning  them  here.  Other  names  that  appear  are  J.  Piatt,  George 
Munford,  Chr.  Richardson,  T.  Faulkner,  the  author  of  the  well- 
known  histories  of  Kensington,  Hammersmith,  Fulham,  etc.  ;  W. 
H.  Brewer,  S.  Woolmer,  B.  Poste,  T.  Adams,  Gregory  Doyle,  Geo. 
Milner,  junior,  John  Milner,  Sir  Samuel  R.  Meyrick,  the  well-known 
authority  on  ancient  armour  ;  J.  Laskey,  John  Hogg,  W.  Mounsey, 
J.  R.  Walker,  M.D. ;  Charles  Collier,  F.S.A. ;  J.  T.  Blight,  John 
Hutchins,  the  Dorsetshire  historian  ;  Charles  Warner,  another 
Dorsetshire  antiquary  ;  Charles  Moore  Jessop,  J.  A.  Repton,  J. 
Tailby,  Thos.  Bere,  W.  C.  Williamson,  Thos.  Jenkins,  A.  Crocker, 
James  Logan,  Gilbert  Gilpin,  J.  Smart,  William  Owen,  besides  which 
we  have  our  old  friends  T.  Row  for  Dr.  S.  Pegge,  once  only  in  this 
volume  ;  J.  Briton,  George  Oliver,  W.  Hamper,  and  Stephen  Vine. 

VOL.    v.  Jf 


xviii  Introduction. 


I  cannot  conclude  this  introduction  to  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
series  without  expressing  my  thanks  for  the  generous  support  I  have 
received  from  many  friends,  and  the  many  kind  words  of  approval 
which  strangers  have  frequently  given  me. 

G.    L.    GOMME. 
Castelnaii,  Barnes,  S.W., 
Febricaty,  i8S6. 


iiiniiiiii]iiifiiiniiminiiAii>'iinii/MiMiif^iiiiii;iii;iiii»ii"ii"""ii.  uutuMiiiiiijiiiMiiMui  mi  iiiiiin-mr 


C  O  N  T E  N  T S. 


Introduction  ..... 

Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains  : 

Some  Diluvial!  Remains  discovered  near  Oxford     - 

Alluvial  Remains  at  Reading    -  -  -  -  . 

Fossil  Vegetation       ---... 

Submarine  Forests  on  the  Norfolk  Coast 

Extinct  .Animals  of  Ireland        -  -  -  .  . 

Fossil  Animal  Remains  ..... 

Fossil  Fish  --.... 

Cave  Remains  ...... 

Scottish  Sculptured  Caves         .  -  .  .  . 

Caves  in  Ireland        --.-.. 
Early  Historic  Remains  : 

Ancient  Timber  Foundations,  etc.  .... 

On  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ancient  Britons 

Ancient  Boats  and  Canoes        -  -  -  .  . 

Stone  and  Flint  Implements      -  -  .  .  . 

A  Celtic  Flint  Implement  Factory  .... 

Bronze  Implements    ----.. 

Fraudulent  Manufacture  of  Flint  Implements 
Sepulchral  Remains  : 

On  some  Curious  Forms  of  Sepulchral  Interment  found  in  East  Yorkshire 

Some  Account  of  the  Isle  of  Ely  -  .  .  . 

Antiquities,  etc.,  discovered  at  Whittlesford,  Cambridgeshire 

Barrows  in  Cornwall  ..... 

King  Barrow,  near  Wareham,  Dorsetshire 

Antiquities  in  Sussex  like  those  in  Dorsetshire 

Barrows  in  Dorsetshire  ..... 

British  Antiquities  at  Winford  Eagle,  Dorset 

Barrows  opened  in  Dorsetshire  .... 

Celtic  Remains  in  Kent  ..... 

Yorkshire  Tumuli      ...... 

Miscellaneous  Excavations        ..... 


I'AGE 

v 


4 
4 
5 
6 

lO 
21 

22 

34 
35 

39 
43 
51 

57 

66 

11 
76 

81 
86 
88 
90 

94 
96 
98 
104 
106 
III 
114 
123 


XX  Contents. 


Sepulchral  Remains — contimied. 

Antiquities  in  Scotland              -                 -                 -                 .                 .  167 

Antiquities  in  Wales                   -                 -                 -                 -                 -  ^93 

Antiquities  in  Ireland                 -                 -                 -                 -                 -  196 

Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc.  : 

Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors                .                 .                 -                 .  202 

Further  Diggings  in  Celtic  Grave-Places                   -                 -                 -  217 

Diggings  on  the  Skelton  and  Guisborough  Moors    -                 -                 -  226 

Investigation  of  a  large  Grave  Hill  in  Cleveland      -                 -                 -  231 

Further  Researches  in  Cleveland  Grave  Hills           -                 -                 -  237 

Discovery  of  a  Keltic  Kitchen  Refuse-Heap,  at  Normanby,  in  Cleveland  241 

Examination  of  a  large  Houe  on  the  Skelton  Moors,  in  Cleveland           -  246 

Further  Investigation  of  Grave  Hills  in  Cleveland  -                 -                 -  251 
Further  Discovery  of  Relics  connected  with  the  Remote  Occupants  of 

Cleveland            ......  255 

Further  Tumulus  Digging  in  Cleveland    -                 -                 -                 -  259 

British  Villages           ......  263 

British  Hill  Fortresses                .....  264 

Camp  in  Devonshire                   .....  266 

Aggleston  Stone  Barrow             .....  267 

Ancient   Cruciform    Mound,    and    Excavations    or     Cavities    recently 

discovered  in  St.  Margaret's  Park,  Flerefordshire              -                 -  269 

Walbury,  Essex          ......  273 

Remains  on  the  Kentish  Downs                 ....  275 

Ancient  Encampment  at  Knaptoft             ....  276 

Encampment  in  Leicestershire                    -                 -                 .                 .  278 

Beacon  at  Ranby,  Lincolnshire                  -                 -                 -                 -  279 

Earthworks  at  Laceby,  Lincolnshire          ....  279 

Marston  Trussel  Entrenchment                  -                 -                 -                 .  281 

British  Villages  in  Northumberland           -                 -                 -                 .  282 

Remarks  on  Cole  and  Pen  in  Somersetshire              -                 -                 -  283 

Ancient  Entrenchment  in  Yorkshire          -                 -                 .                 .  284 

On  the  Laws  or  Duns  of  Scotland              ....  284 

Gallery  of  Stones  in  Forfarshire                 ....  288 

Diggings  into  Ancient  Britain   -                 -                 -                 .                 .  288 

Mounds  of  Earth  near  Pontneddfychan     -                  -                  .                  .  289 

Llanbadarn  Fawr  in  Cardiganshire            ....  291 

Remains  of  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Ireland   -                 -                 -  291 

Dundugan  Fort  in  the  County  of  Louth,  in  Ireland                   -                 -  296 

Buried  Houses  in  Ireland          -                 -                 -                 .                 .  297 

Notes          ----...  OQj 


Geologic  a7id  Prehistoric  Remains. 


VOL.  V. 


i^HH^)^BH^H^^T^^HWw^HH^H^mwm^^^^HH^H^mYH"-'^""■"*^^^^^■  uju-i^mu^hj^ju-i 


GEOLOGIC  AND  PREHISTORIC  REMAINS 


Of  some  Diluvian  Remains  lately  discovered  near  Oxford. 

[1773,/-  277-] 

THE  collecting  of  extraneous  fossils,  or  diluvian  remains,  having 
lately  been  much  attended  to  by  gentlemen  who  are  curious 
in  natural  history,  it  may  not  be  amiss,  through  the  channel  of  your 
useful  magazine,  to  inform  them  that,  in  digging  for  gravel  to  make 
the  new  temporary  road  on  the  back  part  of  St.  Clement's,  Oxford, 
many  broad-skirted  gryphite  oysters  have  been  found  with  both 
valves,  at  the  depth  of  about  three  feet ;  and  with  them  were  also 
found  the  molar  teeth  of  an  elephant. 

About  one  hundred  yards  from  this  bed  of  gravel,  and  six  or  eight 
feet  deeper  in  the  earth,  were  found  many  more  oysters,  varying  little 
in  form  and  size  from  those  in  the  bed  of  gravel,  but  of  a  very 
different  colour,  by  lying  in  a  stratum  of  blue  clay.  In  this  bed  of 
clay  were  found  several  small  fusiform  belemnites,  in  company  with 
many  small  ammonites,  both  of  which,  and  also  the  oysters,  appear 
to  be  saturated  with  pyritical  juices,  many  lumps  or  portions  of  that 
poisonous  mineral  being  scattered  in  the  clay. 

At  Shotover  quarry,  about  a  mile  distant  from  these  beds  of 
oysters,  many  and  various  marine  exuvise  are  frequently  discovered 
in  an  unctuous  kind  of  clay,  particularly  a  broad  flat  oyster,  very 
different  from  those  at  St.  Clement's,  not  one  of  that  species  being 
found  in  the  clay  at  Shotover  quarry.  Many  vertebrje  of  fishes, 
from  four  or  five  inches  to  less  than  one  inch  in  diameter,  have  been 
found  in  the  clay  at  Shotover,  together  with  fragments  of  large  bones 
of  quadrupeds,  such  as  the  tibia  and  scapula  of  an  animal  not 
inferior  in  size  to  an  elephant. 

The  scapula  now  lies  before  me,  and  is  twenty-eight  inches  long, 
twenty-two  inches  round  the  head,  eighteen  inches  round  the  neck, 
and  about  twelve  inches  broad  at  the  base ;  it  weighs  about  eighty 
pounds,  and  has  attached  to  it  one  of  the  flat  oysters  peculiar  to 

I  —  2 


Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 


that  place,  four  inches  in  diameter ;  so  that  this  bone  must  have 
lain  there  a  considerable  time  from  the  dimensions  of  the  oyster, 
whose  under  valve  is  closely  attached  to  it.     [See  Note  i.] 

J.  Platt. 

Alluvial  Remains  at  Reading. 

[1833,  Prtr/ //.,/.  451.] 

A  well  having  been  sunk  in  some  ground  in  Spring  Gardens, 
Reading,  the  workmen,  on  reaching  a  depth  of  about  30  feet, 
met  with  a  stratum  of  shells  embedded  in  a  species  of  green  sand, 
but.  varying  much  from  that  in  which  the  oysters  are  found  at 
Katesgrove.  One  piece,  which  has  been  deposited  by  a  member  of 
the  Philosophical  Institution  in  the  Museum,  is  as  interesting  a 
specimen  as  any  perhaps  ever  excavated.  Some  of  the  shells,  which 
are  of  a  variety  of  shapes,  have  the  original  polish,  others  impressed 
in  chalk  display  the  minutest  markings ;  while  some,  half-open, 
exhibit  the  animal  crystallized  within. 

Fossil  Vegetation. 

[1S27,  Part  I.,  p.  160.] 

An  object  which  has  excited  considerable  curiosity  has  lately 
been  discovered  in  the  vicinity  of  Westbury.  As  the  workmen  of 
Mr.  Jesse  Greenland,  brickmaker,  were  digging  for  clay,  they  came, 
when  about  5  feet  below  the  surface,  to  a  hard  massive  substance, 
which  proved  to  be  a  piece  of  an  oak-tree,  in  an  upright  position, 
closely  embedded  in  the  surrounding  clay.  The  clay  was  carefully 
separated  till  they  reached  its  base,  which  was  6  feet  lower  in  the 
ground.  The  wood  is  perfectly  black,  and  solid  in  the  middle, 
measuring  6  feet  in  length,  and  upwards  of  3  feet  in  circumference. 

[1827, /"a;//.,/.  638.] 

A  discovery,  interesting  alike  to  the  naturalist  and  the  geological 
student,  was  made  a  few  days  ago  in  the  Moat  Colliery,  in  the  parish 
of  Tipton,  in  Staffordshire.  A  petrifaction  resembling  part  of  the 
trunk  of  a  considerable-sized  tree  towards  the  butt,  measuring  in 
length  2  feet  4  inches,  and  in  circumference  4  feet  10  inches,  with 
the  bark  formed  into  coal,  was  found  in  nearly  an  upright  position, 
among  the  strata  of  iron-stone,  at  the  depth  of  upwards  of  200  yards 
below  the  surface,  and  which,  in  the  extraction  of  it,  was  broken  from 
the  upper  part  of  the  trunk  that  still  remains  in  the  earth.  On  the 
exposure  of  this  fossil  to  the  atmospheric  air,  the  coal  formed  from 
the  bark  shivered  from  the  trunk.  So  great  a  curiosity  is  this 
specimen  considered,  that  the  proprietors  of  the  colliery,  at  their 
quarterly  meeting,  passed  a  resolution,  generously  offering  it  as  a 
present  to  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  it  will  be  deemed  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  numerous 
fossils  which  are  already  deposited  in  that  national  institution. 


Fossil  Vegetation. 


[1827,  Part  II.,  p.  449.] 

An  important  geological  discovery  has  recently  been  made,  near 
Scarborough,  in  Grysthorp  Bay,  County  York,  of  a  large  deposit  of  fossil 
plants,  of  the  coal  formation,  presenting  many  varieties  hitherto  un- 
described,  and  differing  essentially  from  those  of  the  Newcastle  field. 
They  occur  in  slate  clay  alternating  with  clay,  iron-stone,  and  a  thin 
seam  of  coal,  about  half-way  below  the  high-water  mark  ;  and  are 
principally  stems  and  leafy  impressions  of  tropical  ferns.  Several  of 
the  specimens  of  the  frondescent  ferns  are  of  large  and  uncommon 
beauty. 

[1840,  Part  II.,  p.  197.] 

A  very  perfect  oak-tree,  in  a  fossil  state,  has  been  recently  dis- 
covered in  a  sand-pit,  at  Calcot,  near  the  Bath  road.  Various 
branches  have,  during  the  last  two  months,  been  dug  out  close  to 
the  spot  where  the  tree  was  found.  It  was  only  about  four  feet  from 
the  surface. 

[1841,  Part  II.,  p.  190.] 

On  excavating  the  earth  for  the  foundation  of  a  new  wall  at  the 
Wilton  Prison  near  Taunton,  the  remains  of  an  oak  were  discovered 
sixteen  feet  below  the  surface.  The  appearance  of  the  trunk  and 
branches  was  that  of  their  having  been  charred,  being  quite  black, 
and  almost  in  a  fossilized  state.  Near  these  forest  remains  were  a 
number  of  hedge-nuts,  presenting  a  similar  appearance. 

Submarine  Forests  on  the  Norfolk  Coast. 

[1845,  Par//.,/.  37-] 

At  page  410  of  your  12th  Vol.,  New  Series  [1839,  part  ii.]  is  the 
following  paragraph  : 

"  Dr.  Young,  of  Whitby,  with  some  of  his  friends,  whilst  examining 
a  subterranean  forest  which  was  found  during  the  excavation  of  a 
capacious  bonding-pond  at  South  Stockton,  discovered  one  of  the 
oaks  to  have  been  cut  in  two,  which  had  evidently  been  done  previous 
to  its  being  covered  by  the  earth.  He  supposes  the  forest  may  have 
been  cut  down  by  the  Roman  soldiers,  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
laying  timber  on  the  low  swampy  grounds  for  the  purpose  of  making 
roads.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  the  hand  of  man  has  been 
exerted  on  the  timber,  and  it  may  form  a  fertile  subject  for  the  lover 
of  ancient  history  and  the  geologist  to  speculate  on." 

The  above  passage  brought  to  my  mind  the  recollection  of  a  fact 
that  I  now  beg  to  communicate  to  you  ;  and  which,  as  it  carries  us 
back  to  a  more  remote  period  than  that  in  which  the  Roman  soldiers 
may  be  supposed  to  have  been  wood-cutters  in  our  land,  you  may 
not  think  unworthy  of  insertion  in  your  valuable  Miscellany. 

In  ages  very  remote,  the  land  along  the  coasts  of  Lincolnshire  and 


Geologic  and  Prehisto)Hc  Remains. 


Norfolk  extended  much  further  out  than  it  does  at  present;  and 
whole  forests  once  existed  in  places  which  are  now  entirely  occupied 
by  the  ocean. 

In  the  Philosophical  Transactions  for  the  year  1799  is  a  very 
interesting  account  of  these  submarine  forests,  by  Joseph  Correa  de 
Serra.  This  paper  relates  only  to  the  Lincolnshire  coast ;  but  roots, 
trunks,  and  branches  of  trees  are  found  to  extend  along  the  northern 
shore  of  Norfolk  also,  as  far  as  from  the  Wash  to  Thornham,  and 
perhaps  further. 

At  low-water  these  may  be  approached  from  the  shore  on  foot ; 
and  about  twelve  years  ago,  accompanied  by  a  friend,  I  walked  to 
examine  them.  At  about  a  mile  from  the  high-water  mark  we  arrived 
at  the  forest,  where  we  found  numberless  large  timber-trees,  trunks, 
and  branches,  but  so  soft  that  they  might  easily  be  penetrated  by 
the  spade.  They  lie  in  a  black  mass  of  vegetable  matter,  which 
seems  to  be  composed  of  the  smaller  branches,  leaves,  and  plants  of 
undergrowth,  occupying  altogether  a  space  of  five  or  six  hundred 
acres. 

But  what  I  would  particularly  recommend  to  the  notice  of  your 
antiquarian  readers  is,  that  /;/  t/ie  prostrate  trimk  of  ofie  of  these  trees, 
embedded  about  an  inch  and  a  half  by  its  cutting  edge,  I  found  a  British 
flint  celt,  which  is  now  deposited  in  the  Norwich  Museum. 

Yours,  etc.,         George  Munford. 

Extinct  Animals  of  Ireland. 

[1834,  Part  II.,  pp.  I47-I50-] 

Of  the  numerous  wild  animals  with  which  Ireland  formerly 
abounded,  a  few  are  now  unknown,  and  the  history  of  some  of 
them  so  totally  lost  as  to  be  neither  recorded  by  the  historian,  nor 
preserved  in  the  traditions  which  have  reached  our  time.  Several  of 
those  animals  are  supposed  to  have  been  extirpated  by  the  fatal  aim 
of  the  sportsman,  or  the  Nimrod  of  the  chase ;  others,  from  neglect, 
have  become  extinct,  and  have  been  supplanted  by  those  less  fero- 
cious in  their  habits,  or  of  a  finer  symmetry  of  form,  or  a  more  hardy 
and  useful  race. 

Among  the  former  are  the  Irish  Elk,  sometimes  called  the  Moose 
Deer,  whose  bones  and  antlers  are  occasionally  found  in  our  bogs  or 
in  raising  marl ; — they  far  exceed  in  size  those  of  any  animal  at 
present  in  this  kingdom.  The  remains  have  been  supposed  by  Sir 
Thomas  Molyneux  and  others  to  be  those  of  the  Cervus  Aices,  or 
American  Elk  ;  but  a  perfect  skeleton  of  the  former  now  in  the  Dublin 
Museum  proves  that  there  is  a  decided  and  characteristic  difference, 
and  that  our  fossil  Elk  is  a  species  of  the  genus  Alces  distinct  from 
any  now  known.  The  large  bones  and  enormous  antlers  prove  also 
that  they  belonged  to  an  animal  superior  in  size  to  the  American  Elk, 


Extinct  Ani77tals  of  Ireland. 


From  the  bones  discovered,  its  general  height  appears  to  have  been 
about  seven  feet ;  some  of  the  horns  are  nearly  fourteen  feet  from  tip 
to  tip  ;  and  the  height  from  the  ground  to  the  highest  tip  of  the 
antlers,  above  ten  feet.     \Cf.  Dawkin's  Early  Man  in  Britain,  p.  104.] 

The  total  disappearance  of  this  stately  animal  has  been  attributed 
by  some  to  an  epidemic  distemper,  or  pestilential  murrain,  which 
swept  off  at  once  the  entire  stock — as  is  said  sometimes  to  rage 
among  the  Rein  Deer.*  In  many  places  the  remains  of  several 
animals  have  been  found  in  the  same  field.  This  fact  proves,  at 
least,  that  they  were  gregarious,  and  countenances  in  some  measure 
the  opinion  regarding  their  extinction;  and  that  "they  died  together 
in  numbers,  as  they  had  lived  together  in  herds." 

In  Harris's  edition  of  Ware's  Antiquities  of  Ireland,  mention  is 
made  of  a  Mr.  Osburn,  who  found  three  heads  and  sets  of  horns  at 
Dardistown,  county  of  Meath  ;  five  pair  of  these  horns  were  also 
discovered  not  many  years  ago  on  the  lands  of  Castle  Farm,  near 
Hospital,  county  of  Limerick ;  and  seven  pair  were  found  near 
Knocktoe,  in  the  same  county.t  About  1778,  an  entire  skeleton  of 
one  of  those  animals  was  dug  up  from  a  marl-pit  near  Kilcullen.  The 
figure  was  standing  upright,  and  the  tips  of  the  horns  were  only  about 
two  feet  beneath  the  surface.:!; 

That  at  least  some  of  those  gigantic  creatures  were  extirpated  by 
the  sportsman  or  hunter,  is  evident  from  the  following  circumstances. 
A  rib  of  the  animal  seen  in  the  Dublin  Museum  has  been  perforated 
by  an  arrow,  or  some  sharp  instrument ;  and  in  cutting  peat  some 
years  ago  in  a  bog  near  Kells,  county  of  Meath,  there  was  discovered, 
a  few  feet  below  the  surface,  a  row  of  strong  oaken  stakes,  from  six 
to  eight  inches  in  diameter,  varying  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  length, 
and  about  six  inches  apart  from  each  other.  On  clearing  the  bog 
away,  it  was  found  that  these  stakes  formed  an  extensive  enclosure, 
in  which  were  numerous  remains  of  the  Irish  Elk,  and  it  is  believed 
that  those  poles  served  as  a  kind  of  cage  for  entrapping  the  Elk,  when 
driven  into  it  by  the  hunter,  after  the  same  manner  as  elephants  are 
still  taken  in  Ceylon  and  Indostan.§ 

From  the  shortness  of  the  neck  of  those  animals,  it  has  been  sup- 
posed that  they  could  not  graze  on  the  fields,  but  browsed  on  the 
leaves  and  tender  branches  of  trees  ;  but  from  the  great  size  of  their 
horns  it  is  evident  they  must  have  been  immediately  entangled  if  they 
entered  a  forest.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  they  existed  only  in  a 
champaign  country. 

In  a  work  entitled  "  De  Regno  Hiberniae,"  etc.,  written  about  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  by  Dr.  Peter  Lombard,  titular 

*  Harris's  Ware,  p.  168. 

f  Fitzgerald  and  M'Gregor's  History  of  Limerick,  p.  403. 

X  Brewer's  Beauties  of  Ireland,  vol.  ii.,  p.  53. 

§  See  Account  of  Ceylon. 


8  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

primate  of  Armagh,  he  notices  wild  boars  as  then  in  Ireland.  He 
also  mentions  several  kinds  of  hounds  now  extinct,  then  kept  for  the 
chase,  amongst  which  were  those  for  hunting  otters,  deer,  wolves,  and 
the  boar.  As  this  is  the  only  information  we  have  found  of  wild  boars 
being  in  Ireland  at  so  late  a  date,  perhaps  they  were  extirpated  about 
that  period. 

In  the  same  work  Dr.  Lombard  states  that  wolves  were  so 
numerous,  that  the  cattle  had  to  be  secured  at  night  from  their 
ravages.  Fynes  Moryson,  in  his  "  Itinerary,"  likewise  mentions  the 
depredations  committed  on  cattle  in  Ireland  by  the  wolves,  the 
destruction  of  which  he  says  is  neglected  by  the  inhabitants  \  and 
adds,  that  these  animals  were  "  so  much  grown  in  numbers  as  some- 
limes  in  winter  nights  they  will  enter  into  villages  and  the  suburbs  of 
cities."  This  statement  of  their  numbers  and  boldness  is  also  cor- 
roborated by  accounts  of  a  later  date,  particularly  by  Blenerhassett, 
in  his  "  Directions  for  the  Plantation  of  Ulster,"  printed  in  1610.  In 
1662,  we  find  Sir  John  Ponsonby,  in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons, 
reporting  from  the  Committee  of  Grievances,  the  "  great  increase  of 
wolves,"  and  that  the  same  was  a  grievance,  and  requesting  that  the 
House  would  be  pleased  to  take  the  same  "  into  their  consideration," 
and  to  make  a  law  for  the  taking  and  killing  of  them  for  the  future. 
These  notices  of  their  numbers  and  boldness  are  still  further  confirmed 
by  later  accounts.  In  a  dialogue  entitled  "Some  Things  of  Im- 
portance to  Ireland,"  published  in  Dublin  in  175 1,  the  author  states 
that  an  old  man,  near  Lurgan,  informed  him,  that  when  he  was  a  boy, 
wolves,  during  winter,  used  to  come  within  two  miles  of  that  town, 
and  destroy  cattle.  This  must  have  been  about  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century. 

According  to  several  accounts,  the  last  wolf  observed  in  Ireland 
was  killed  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  in  17 10;  tradition  says  on  the 
Crany  river,  Carnlough,  near  Glenarm  ;  and  another  account  adds 
that  the  last  wolf  seen  in  Ulster  was  shot  by  Arthur  Upton,  on 
Aughnabreack,  or  the  Wolf-hill,  near  Belfast.* 

To  effect  the  extirpation  of  the  wolves  the  inhabitants  were  obliged 
to  keep  a  breed  of  large  dogs,  the  Cams  Grains  Hibemicus,  or  Irish 
greyhound,  commonly  called  the  Irish  Wolf  Dog.  These  animals 
are  believed  to  be  descended  from  the  great  Danish  dog,  brought 
hither  by  some  of  the  Northern  tribes  that  settled  in  this  kingdom. 
On  the  extermination  of  the  wolves  these  large  animals,  being  no 
longer  useful,  were  suffered  to  become  extinct  through  neglect.  The 
last  we  have  seen  mentioned  were  kept  by  the  late  Lord  Sligo,  near 
Westport,  about  the  year  1800,  but  they  are  since  dead.      Goldsmith 

*  The  last  wolf  seen  in  Scotland  was  shot  by  Sir  Ewen  Cameron,  of  Lochiel, 
m  1680.     [See  Harting's  British  Animals  Extinct  within  Historic  Times,  1880, 

passim.l 


Extinct  Animals  of  Ireland. 


mentions  that  he  had  seen  a  dozen  of  these  dogs,  and  that  the  largest 
was  about  four  feet  high. 

In  the  loth  century  the  Irish  greyhound  or  wolf  dog  was  held  in 
such  estimation  by  the  Welsh,  that  in  the  laws  of  Hoel  Dha,  he  seems 
to  have  belonged  only  to  the  king  and  nobility,  and  the  fines  for 
injuring  him  were  very  great*  They  were  also  formerly  sent  as  pre- 
sents to  foreign  princes.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  four  were 
annually  exported  to  a  Spanish  nobleman  ;  and  in  1615,  we  find  some 
of  them  sent  to  the  Great  Mogul.  In  1623,  Viscount  Falkland,  Lord 
Deputy,  writes  to  the  Earl  of  Cork  to  send  him  two  Irish  wolf  dogs, 
of  a  white  colour. t  There  is  a  good  figure  of  this  dog  in  Bewick's 
"Quadrupeds,"  and  there  is  also  a  figure  in  the  "Field  Book." 

Ireland  also  formerly  possessed  a  remarkable  breed  of  wild  cattle. 
These  were  all  white  except  their  ears,  which  were  of  a  reddish  brown. 
In  1203,  we  find  the  wife  of  William  deBraosa  sending  from  hence  to  an 
English  Queen  the  singular  present  of  four  hundred  of  these  cows  and 
one  bull.;}:  This  gift  would  probably  not  have  been  forwarded  to  her 
Majesty,  if  similar  animals  had  existed  in  that  country.  Hence  it  is 
likely  that  from  this  herd  are  descended  the  stock  of  wild  cattle  still 
seen  in  several  noblemen's  parks  in  England.  A  few  of  the  like  cattle 
were  also  preserved  in  Hamilton  Park,  in  the  vicinity  of  Glasgow,  so 
late  as  1760  ;  but  neither  record  nor  tradition  has  pointed  out  when 
they  became  extinct  in  the  country  from  which  it  is  probable  they 
were  originally  derived. 

In  the  summer  of  1830,  as  some  labourers  were  working  in  the 
bottom  of  a  limestone  quarry,  near  the  parish  church  of  Carnmoney, 
about  four  miles  from  Belfast,  they  discovered  in  a  black  clay  the 
bones  of  an  animal  which  hitherto  have  been  only  found  in  a  fossil 
state,  and  it  is  believed  never  before  in  this  kingdom.  The  bones 
were  ascertained  to  belong  to  the  Piesiosaicnis,  an  animal  of  the  lizard 
species,  which  bears  the  least  resemblance  to  those  of  the  present 
world  of  any  now  known.  These  remains  consisted  of  eighteen  vertebrae, 
or  joints  of  the  backbone ;  but  the  greater  number  were  destroyed,  or 
carried  off,  so  that  only  seven  joints  have  been  preserved,  which  have 
been  deposited  in  the  museum  of  the  Belfast  Academy.  The  most 
remarkable  feature  in  the  structure  of  those  animals  is  the  extreme 
length  of  their  neck,  which  is  composed  of  many  more  vertebrae  than 
are  found  in  the  longest-necked  bird,  even  the  swan,  which  surpasses 
in  this  respect  any  other  animal.  When  living  it  must  have  presented 
a  true  serpent  neck,  with  a  remarkably  small  head.  The  length  of 
the  largest  species  found  seems  to  have  been  nearly  twenty  feet.  See 
"Annals  of  Philosophy,"  May,  1831.  S.  M.  S. 

'"'  Anthologia  Hibernica. 
t  Gentleman'' s  Magazine. 

X  Cox's  History  of  Ireland.     From  this  very  unequal  number,  the  cows  sent 
were  probably  only  forty. 


lo  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remahis. 


Fossil  Animal  Remains. 

[1762,/.  155.] 

The  Parliament  having  given  orders  for  a  powder-magazine  to  be 
erected  at  Folkestone,  in  Kent,  the  following  petrifaction  was  dug 
out  of  an  old  burial-ground  long  since  disused,  being  taken  out  of 
a  grave,  and  presented  to  Roger  North,  Esq.,  of  Rougham,  in 
Norfolk. 

It  is  thought,  by  the  virtuosi,  to  be  a  frustrum,  or  piece  of  the  mus- 
cular part  of  a  human  body,  weighing  about  ten  pounds,  on  one  side 
of  which  are  plainly  to  be  seen  two  bones  lying  half  out  of  the  mass, 
one  of  which  is  about  five  inches  long,  and  seems  to  be  the  tibia,  with 
its  head,  and  part  of  the  shank,  or  shin-bone  ;  the  other  is  shorter, 
and  much  less.  On  the  opposite  side  appears  a  flat  piece  of  wood 
(seemingly  oak),  strongly  petrified,  which  it  is  thought  denotes  part 
of  the  coffin  it  was  interred  in.  The  whole  mass  of  flesh,  as  to  colour, 
looks,  as  near  as  can  be  compared,  like  a  piece  of  mummy,  or  em- 
balmed flesh,  interspersed  with  a  great  many  iron-coloured  spots,  and 
in  its  shape  resembles  a  great  piece  of  flesh  rolled  up  in  four  or  five 
folds,  and  has  some  appearance  of  the  marcasite,  or  iron-stone.  This 
is  esteemed  the  greater  curiosity,  inasmuch  as  flesh  of  any  sort  seldom 
or  ever  is  known  to  have  undergone  so  strong  a  petrifaction,  and 
seems  to  preponderate  even  iron  itself.  The  original  cause  of  this  so 
strongly  petrified  substance  is  not  known  ;  but  it  is  imagined  some 
vitriolic  juices,  strongly  impregnated  with  ferruginous  particles,  by 
falling  upon  that  part  of  the  body  (for  there  was  no  other  piece  of  the 
like  kind  to  be  found),  might  probably  be  the  occasion  of  that  won- 
derful and  uncommon  alteration. 

[1765,  /.  450.] 

Some  days  ago,  near  South  Tyne-side,  about  three  miles  above  this 
place,  were  found  some  surprisingly  large  teeth,  but  of  what  animal 
nobody  who  has  seen  them  can  pretend  to  say.  No  part  of  the 
skeleton  has  been  found  except  some  of  the  skull  and  jawbones,  both 
of  which  are  so  broken  that  it  is  impossible  to  form  any  judgment  of 
them.  The  teeth  that  are  largest  are  broken  off  just  at  their  insertion 
into  the  jaw;  their  shape  and  dimensions  are  as  follow,  w's.,  the 
largest  in  length  3  J  inches,  and  4^-  inches  round,  grooved  with  deep 
furrows  from  the  apex  to  the  base  ;  another  in  length  2\  inches,  and 
round  A,\  inches  ;  a  third  2|-  inches  in  length,  and  4;^  inches  round. 
They  are  all  axle-teeth  of  the  same  texture,  and  were  joined  close  to 
one  another,  inserted  into  one  side  of  the  jaw.  Allowing  these  to  be 
all  the  axle-teeth  on  one  side  of  the  mouth,  and  to  take  up  4^  inches 
in  extent,  the  fore-teeth  and  grinders  on  the  other  side,  must  conse- 
quently take  up  twice  as  much  room  ;  which  makes  the  capacity  of 
the  mouth  at  least  13^  inches.     The  remains  of  the  teeth  are  very 


Fossil  Animal  Remains.  1 1 

fresh  ;  and  a  more  perfect  guess  of  what  sort  of  animal  it  has  been 
may  probably  be  made,  as  there  are  some  persons  intending  to  search 
for  the  skeleton.  It  has,  without  doubt,  been  of  the  granivorous  kind, 
as  the  hard  plates  of  bone  in  the  teeth  are  disposed  at  certain  dis- 
tances, in  a  perpendicular  direction,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of 
the  teeth. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours,  etc.,  Chr.  Richardson. 

\\lZz,  Part  I., p.  321.] 

I  am  induced  to  send  you  a  sketch  (see  plate  II.,  fig.  2,  3)  of  two 
stones  brought  me  by  a  Somersetshire  quarrier  a  few  days  since. 
They  weigh  about  twenty-five  pounds  each,  are  of  extreme  hardness, 
and  richly  charged  with  animal  bones,  but  of  what  animal  I  am  not 
anatomist  enough  to  determine.  I  think  the  bones  are  not  perfectly 
petrified  ;  but  they  are  much  harder  than  in  their  bony  state,  and 
they  are  so  intimately  united  with  the  stone  that  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  separating  them.  They  were  taken  up  at  a  considerable 
depth  from  the  surface,  and  have,  I  think,  the  appearance  of  the  ribs 
of  lambs ;  but  that  they  are  animal  bones,  is  as  certain  as  that  the 
rock  which  holds  them  was  once  in  a  soft  state  to  receive  them. 
No.  I  is  a  beautiful  marine  shell.  I  intend  sawing  them  down  the 
middle  ;  and  if  they  disclose  anything  still  more  curious,  I  will  com- 
municate it  to  you. 

P.S. — Upon  a  closer  examination  I  think  I  may  pronounce  the 
bones  to  be  a  perfect  petrifaction  ;  but  to  the  eye  they  seem  so  perfect 
a  bone,  that  they  deceived  me.  They  are  of  a  fine  polish,  and  of  a 
dark  brown  colour.  P.  T. 

[179^2,  Part  II.,  p.  1200.] 

_  In  digging  for  ochre  some  years  ago  in  the  pits  not  far  from  this 
city  [the  name  of  the  city  is  omitted],  my  man  informed  me  they  had 
found  bones  of  a  very  uncommon  size.  Curiosity  urged  me  to  inquire 
farther  into  the  fact.  The  man  told  me,  when  I  came  there,  that  in 
digging  he  had  discovered  the  ground  to  fall.  He  apprehended  it 
was  a  pit-fall,  told  his  master  of  it,  who  told  him  very  carefully  to 
dig  about  that  place,  which  he  did,  and  found  a  cave  of  a  very  great 
size,  and  bones  of  the  size  of  an  elephant,  excessively  large.  I  was 
exceedingly  surprised  when  I  saw  them,  never  having  seen  any  near 
the  size.  j.  n. 

[1799,  Part  I,  p.  12.] 

A  chalk-pit  in  which  lime  is  burnt,  about  a  hundred  yards'  distance 
from  the  turnpike-road  leading  from  Newmarket  to  Bury,  and  on  the 
north  side  of  it,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Carmerow  bridge, 
affords  many  fossil  remains  of  marine  animals,  mostly,  as  may  be 
expected,  what  are  commonly  found  elsewhere,  such  as  fishes'  teeth, 
globular  echini  without  spines  in  abundance,  many  shells  of  the  size 


12  Geologic  and  PreJiistoric  Remains. 

of  a  large  sea-ear,  but  not  that  shell.  The  only  remarkable  one  for 
its  singularity  is  that  here  figured  (plate  L,  a,  b),  and  another  similar 
in  shape  and  size,  besides  four  pieces  of  stem  about  an  inch  long 
each.  Both  the  more  perfect  ones  were  broken,  the  figured  one  in 
three  pieces,  the  other  in  two.  If  the  other  bits  belong  to  either  of 
the  animals,  they  must  have  formed  some  other  part,  as  they  do  not 
readily  join.  Some  resemblance  between  them  and  the  Asteropedium 
figured  in  Hill's  fossils  and  Cyclopeedia  fossils  may  be  observed ;  but 
in  all  not  the  least  appearance  of  wires,  branches,  or  adpendicula,  is 
discernible,  the  backs  being  perfectly  smooth,  without  the  least 
appearance  of  joint,  or  power  of  flexibility. 

[1803,  Part  II.,  p.  1075.] 

Lately,  by  the  falling  down  of  a  piece  of  the  cliff  on  Walton  shore, 
near  Harwich,  the  skeleton  of  an  enormous  animal  was  discovered, 
measuring  nearly  30  feet  in  length.  Some  of  the  bones  were  nearly 
as  large  as  a  man's  body,  and  6  or  7  feet  long ;  the  cavities  which 
contained  the  marrow  were  large  enough  to  admit  the  introduction 
of  a  man's  arm;  the  bones,  on  being  handled,  broke  to  pieces. 
One  of  the  molar  teeth  was  carried  to  Colchester  by  Mr.  J,  Jackson, 
who  took  it  from  the  spot,  in  whose  possession  it  now  is  ;  it  weighs 
7  pounds,  is  of  a  square  form,  and  the  grinding  surface  is  studded 
with  several  zigzag  rows  of  laminse,  which  seem  to  denote  that  it 
belonged  to  a  carnivorous  animal.  There  were  more  teeth,  which 
were  unfortunately  broken,  one  of  which  weighed  12  pounds.  It  is 
probable  that  the  tusks  will  be  found  by  searching  further  into  the 
cliff,  or  amongst  the  earth  which  has  fallen  down. 

[1824,  Part  II.,  p.  548.] 

The  violence  of  the  weather  lately  washed  down  a  considerable 
portion  of  Burton  Cliff,  near  Bridport,  and  exposed  a  mass,  which, 
on  digging  out,  proved  to  be  the  vertebras  of  some  animal,  whose 
size  must  have  been  enormous.  It  is  in  excellent  preservation,  every 
process  and  part  being  perfect.  It  was  deeply  embedded  in  oolite 
strata,  and  must  have  lain  from  the  diluvian  or  ante-diluvian  period, 
as  the  whole  of  the  diluvian  remains  found  in  the  range  of  cliffs  from 
Bridport  to  Devonshire  are  situate  inferiorly  to  the  different  strata, 
and  which  are  chiefly  blue  lias,  green-sand,  white  lias,  red  marl,  sand- 
stone, and  chalk.  Mr.  John  Tucker,  of  Bridport,  is  in  possession  of 
this  interesting  natural  object,  and  having  procured  it  for  a  short  time, 
he  will  give  a  personal  inspection  of  it,  and  will  assist  in  researches 
for  the  discovery  of  other  portions. 

[1744,  p.  563.] 

A  farmer  near  Thorpe,  in  the  Ainsty,  digging  in  a  low  ground  for 
water,  discovered  the  horns  of  a  stag's  head,  upon  which  he  got  some 
of  his  neighbours  to  assist  him,  and  with  great  difficulty  they  got  it 


Fossil  Animal  Remains.  13 

out  of  the  earth,  for  it  is  supposed  to  be  four  times  greater  than  any 
of  that  kind  to  be  seen  now. 

[1827,  Fart  I.,  p.  160.] 

The  head,  horns,  vertebrae  of  the  neck,  and  some  rib  bones,  of  a 
large  animal  of  the  deer  kind,  which  may  now  be  regarded  as  an 
extinct  species,  were  discovered  in  the  clift"  at  Skipsea,  and  have 
subsequently  been  exhibited  in  Bridlington,  by  James  Boswell,  the 
person  who  found  them.  They  were  partly  embedded  in  saponaceous 
clay,  overlaid  with  vegetable  matter,  about  5  feet  in  thickness,  and 
in  different  stages  of  decomposition  (about  2I  feet  being  a  sort  of 
moor  soil,  and  the  remaining  2^  feet  being  composed  of  half- 
decayed  leaves,  twigs,  etc.)  above  this,  to  the  surface,  about  i  foot 
of  common  earth.  The  head,  with  the  upper  jaw,  containing  a  row 
of  fine  teeth  on  each  side,  is  entire  ;  the  under  jaw  wanting.  The 
horns,  which  are  broken  toward  the  tip,  are  large  and  branching, 
their  dimensions  being  nearly  as  follows  : 

feet.  in. 
From  the  extreme  tip  of  each  horn  ...  ...  ...  8       o 

From  the  tip  of  one  horn  to  its  root         ...  ...  ...   5       9 

From  the  tip  of  one  of  the  inner  branches  to  the  tip  of  the 

opposite  branch  ...  ...  ...  ...  •  ■  •  3       o 

The  breadth  of  one  of  the  palms  within  the  branches  ...   i       7 

The  length  of  the  head  from  the  back  of  the  skull  to  the 

-   extremity  of  the  upper  jaw  ...  ...  ...i     10 

The  breadth  of  the  skull  ...  ...  ...  ...010 

The  brow-antlers,  as  well  as  the  main  horns,  are  palmated,  and 
slightly  divided  at  the  ends,  and  the  whole  may  justly  be  considered 
as  a  rare  and  interesting  specimen  of  organic  remains. 

[1828,  /'rtr/ /.,/>.  462.] 

Some  workmen  employed  at  Kingsholm,  near  Gloucester,  in 
opening  a  pit  of  gravel,  recently  discovered,  at  about  5  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  tooth  of  an  elephant,  partly  fossilized, 
but  still  retaining  a  considerable  portion  of  the  enamel.  It  measures 
19  inches  in  circumference,  weighs  5  pounds,  and  is  in  a  perfect 
state  of  preservation.  This  curious  relic  of  an  antediluvian  world 
is  in  the  possession  of  Benjamin  Bonner,  Esq.,  of  Gloucester.  About 
thirty  years  ago  a  fossil  crocodile  was  discovered  in  an  adjoining 
gravel-pit,  which  was  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Hawker,  of  Woodchester. 

[1822,  Part  I.,  p.  545.] 

A  discovery  of  fossil  remains,  similar  to  those  usually  found  in 
alluvial  soils,  was  recently  made  at  Atwick,  near  Hornsea.  The 
portion  of  a  tusk  has  been  presented  to  Dr.  Alderson  of  that  place, 
and  is  now  in  the  shop  of  Mr.  Rodford ;  it  is  about  38  inches  in 
length,   20  inches  in  circumference  at  the   lower  end,  and  weighs 


14  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

4  stone  2  pounds.  It  is  of  fine  ivory,  except  where  slightly  decom- 
posed at  the  fractures,  by  lying  in  the  earth,  and  has  probably  been 
thrice  as  long  when  entire.  Conjecture  has  assigned  this  fine 
remnant  of  former  days  to  the  mammoth — but  erroneously.  It  is, 
beyond  doubt,  the  tusk  of  the  fossil  elephant,  an  animal  described  by 
Cuvier  as  of  a  distinct  race  from  the  Indian  or  African  elephant,  but 
most  resembling  the  former ;  and  which  might  probably,  therefore, 
be  capable  of  living  in  a  more  temperate  climate.  The  tusk  of  the 
mammoth,  as  appears  by  the  skeleton  of  one  put  together  by 
M.  Cuvier,  is  of  a  much  greater  curvature  than  the  present,  similar 
ones  to  which  have  been  discovered  in  various  parts  of  England, 
particularly  on  the  east  coast,  and  one  recently  near  Bridlington.  It 
was  found  on  the  sea-shore,  having  no  doubt  fallen'  from  the  cliff, 
where  other  portions  may  exist,  although  such  remains  are  not 
unfrequently  discovered  unaccompanied  by  other  bones.  We  have 
been  desired,  as  above,  to  correct  an  erroneous  statement  which  has 
appeared,  that  it  was  found  on  the  sea  near  Ackwith. 

[X827, /'ar//.,/.  555.] 

An  extraordinary  and  very  curious  fossil  reptile,  a  singular  remain 
of  the  antediluvian  world,  was  lately  found  by  Mr.  Shirley  Woolmer 
of  Exeter,  who  now  has  it  in  his  possession.  The  antique  animal  is 
3  inches  in  length,  from  the  mouth  to  the  tip  of  the  tail,  and  3^ 
inches  round  the  body,  which  appears  like  three  distinct  parallel 
bodies  united  in  one.  It  has  two  legs,  two  short  or  stubbed  horns, 
and  a  round  head,  exhibiting  four  prominent  eyes,  and  is  in  an 
incurvated  position,  with  its  tail  under  it,  which  reaches  only  half  an 
inch  from  its  mouth.     It  is  in  a  high  state  of  preservation. 

[1825,  Part  I.,  p.  360.] 

Various  fossil  remains,  among  which  are  some  bones  of  a  gigantic 
crocodile,  and  certain  traces  of  the  megalosaurus  and  pleiosaurus, 
have  been  found  in  the  sandstone  of  Tilgate  Forest,  Sussex,  and  also 
those  of  an  enormous  animal,  thought  to  be  the  iguanodon.  The 
teeth  are  evidently  those  of  an  herbivorous  animal  of  extraordinary 
size,  not  less,  according  to  the  proportions  of  the  remains,  than  60 
feet  in  length ;  and  it  is  considered  to  have  been  an  amphibious 
species  of  animal. 

[1825,  T'a;-//.,/.  637.] 

The  bones  and  teeth  of  a  gigantic  species  of  crocodile,  together 
with  bones  of  various  species  of  animals  of  the  order  of  Saurians,  or 
lizards,  have  recently  been  discovered  near  Cuckfield,  in  Sussex,  in 
the  stratum  called  green-sand,  which  lies  under  the  chalk  in  that 
county.  One  of  these  animals  appears,  from  its  bones,  to  have  been 
of  a  most  enormous  size,  not  less  than  60  feet  in  length,  its  bulk  and 
height  were  equal  to  those  of  the  elephant.     It  belongs  to  a  species 


Fossil  Animal  Remains.  15 

hitherto  undescribed.  The  form  of  the  teeth  indicates  that  it  Hved 
upon  vegetables ;  the  celebrated  anatomist,  Baron  Cuvier,  who  has 
seen  specimens  of  these  teeth,  is  decidedly  of  this  opinion.  In  this 
respect  it  resembles  the  American  lizard,  called  the  Iguana,  which  is 
herbivorous,  and  lives  principally  in  trees.  It  also  nearly  resembles 
the  Iguana  in  the  structure  of  its  bones,  and  from  this  resemblance  it 
has  been  proposed  to  call  the  fossil  animal  found  near  Cuckfield  the 
Iguanodon.  The  bones  are  in  possession  of  Mr.  Mantell,  surgeon, 
Lewes.  From  the  remains  of  birds  and  vegetables  found  with  the 
Iguanodon,  it  appears  to  have  been  a  land  animal,  or  to  have  lived 
in  marshes.  An  animal  of  nearly  equal  size,  and  also  allied  in  form 
to  the  crocodile,  was  found  some  years  since  at  Lyme ;  its  monstrous 
head  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Clifton,  near 
Bristol  ;  but  this  animal  had  paddles  like  the  turtle,  and  is  supposed 
to  have  been  an  inhabitant  of  the  ocean.  The  lias  stratum,  in  which 
the  remains  of  many  new  species  of  animals  allied  to  the  crocodile 
are  most  frequently  found,  runs  along  the  whole  southern  side  of 
Oxfordshire,  from  Lutterworth  to  Shipston. 

[1827, /'ar^/.,/.  555.] 

A  short  time  since,  some  workmen,  employed  in  digging  stone 
Boughton  Hall,  the  seat  of  —  Braddock,  Esq.,  near  Maidstone, 
discovered  bones  and  teeth  of  several  animals,  some  of  which  the 
proprietor  of  the  estate  transmitted  to  the  Geological  Society.  Dr. 
Buckland,  Mr.  Lyell,  and  other  scientific  gentlemen,  in  consequence, 
visited  Boughton,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  bones  had  been 
found  in  a  fissure  in  the  rock,  which  had  evidently  been  filled  up  by 
diluvial  action.  The  bones  of  at  least  two  hyaenas  (of  the  extinct 
Kirkdale  species)  were  found,  together  with  bones  and  teeth  of  the 
horse,  rat,  etc. ;  but  the  fissure  extended  so  deeply  in  the  solid  rock, 
that  it  could  not  be  traced  to  the  bottom,  and  it  will  not  be  possible 
to  ascertain  whether  it  leads  to  a  cave  formerly  inhabited  by  hyenas, 
or  is  merely  a  fissure  filled  up  by  the  effects  of  the  deluge,  until  the 
quarry  is  considerably  enlarged. 

[1827,  Part  II.,  p.  69.] 

The  quarries  where  the  remains  [at  Boughton]  were  found  appear  to 
have  been  worked  for  many  centuries,  and  there  is  a  tradition  that  many 
of  the  materials  of  Westminster  Abbey,  and  other  ancient  buildings  in 
London,  were  brought  from  thence.  The  stone  is  called  Kentish 
Rag ;  it  consists  of  a  succession  of  beds  of  limestone  and  coarse 
flint,  dispersed  in  irregular  series  through  a  matrix  of  sand  and  sand- 
stone ;  its  geological  position  is  in  the  lowest  region  of  the  green- 
sand  formation,  immediately  above  the  weald  clay.  The  remains  in 
question  consist  of  the  jaws,  teeth,  and  broken  portions  of  the  skull, 
together  with  bones  of  the  fore  and  hind  legs  of  a  very  large  hyrena, 


1 6  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

and  a  few  other  teeth  and  bones,  apparently  of  the  ox  and  horse.  All 
these  were  found  nearly  together,  within  the  space  of  a  few  feet,  in 
one  of  the  numerous  cracks  and  fissures  (locally  called  vents)  that 
intersect  the  strata  at  this  place,  and  are  usually  from  one  to  twenty 
feet  broad  ;  on  the  sides  of  many  of  these  vents  are  hollow  apertures 
of  various  sizes,  some  of  which  occasionally  expand  themselves  into 
caves  ;  two  such  caves  have  lately  been  discovered  in  the  quarries  on 
the  north  side  of  the  valley  at  Boughton  Mount.  These  fissures,  or 
vents,  are  cut  through  the  strata  from  the  bottom  of  the  quarries  to 
the  surface,  and  are  filled  with  diluvial  loam  interspersed  with  frag- 
ments of  the  adjacent  rocks  and  numerous  chalk  flints ;  these  last 
must  have  been  drifted  hither  from  some  distant  hills,  and  have  fallen 
into  the  fissures  at  the  same  time  with  the  loam.  This  loam,  at 
its  upper  extremity,  becomes  united  to  that  which  covers  the  surface 
of  the  quarry  and  the  adjacent  fields.  The  bones  were  discovered 
at  about  15  feet  deep,  in  one  of  these  fissures  ;  and  from  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  scattered  amongst  the  loam  and  stony  fragments, 
they  appear  to  have  been  drifted  to  their  present  place  at  the  same 
time  with  the  diluvial  matter  amongst  which  they  lay,  occupying  a 
position  precisely  similar  to  the  bones  of  hyaenas  and  other  animals 
that  were  discovered  in  the  fissures  of  the  breakwater  limestone  rock 
near  Plymouth,  embedded  in  similar  diluvial  loam  and  pebbles.  It 
is  highly  probable  that  at  Boughton,  as  was  the  case  at  Plymouth, 
the  caves  communicating  with  these  fissures  will  be  found  to  con- 
tain an  abundance  of  similar  bones. 

[1809,  Fart  11. ,  p.  672.] 

A  petrified  land  tortoise,  in  the  highest  state  of  preservation,  was 
lately  discovered  by  some  labourers,  who  were  digging  in  Swanage 
rocks,  on  the  island  of  Purbeck,  at  the  depth  of  70  feet.  A  clergy- 
man offered  five  guineas  for  it,  which  was  refused  ;  but  after 
exhibiting  it  about,  the  labourers  sold  it  to  a  gentleman  of  Upway  for 
eight  guineas  ;  since  which  ;^3oo  has  been  offered  for  it.  The  mate 
was  subsequently  dug  up ;  but  it  was  broken  to  pieces,  and  spoiled. 

[1823,  i'.z;-//.,/.  173.] 

The  skeleton  of  a  rhinoceros  was  discovered  a  short  time  ago  by 
some  miners  in  search  of  lead  ore,  90  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wirksworth,  Derbyshire,  in  what  is 
called  diluvian  soil.  The  bones  are  in  a  perfect  state,  and  the 
enamel  of  the  teeth  uninjured. 

[1824,  Fart  I.,  p.  454.] 

The  entire  skeleton  of  a  large  mammoth,  i.e.  a  fossil  elephant  of 
the  same  species  with  those  which  occur  in  Siberia,  and  all  over 
Europe,  has  been  very  recently  discovered  at  Ilford,  in  the  county  of 
Essex,  near  Stratford  and  Bow.     It  lay  buried  at  the  depth  of  about  16 


Fossil  Animal  Remains.  17 

feet,  in  a  large  quarry  of  diluvian  loam  and  clay  which  is  excavating 
for  making  bricks.  Mr.  John  Gibson,  of  Stratford,  has  been  diligently 
exerting  himself  in  collecting  and  preserving  as  much  as  possible  of 
this  skeleton  ;  and  a  few  days  since  he  invited  Professor  Buckland 
and  Mr.  Cliff"  to  assist  him  in  disinterring  the  remainder  of  the  bones, 
which  he  had  purposely  left  in  their  natural  position  in  the  quarry. 
These  gentlemen  found  a  large  tusk  and  several  of  the  largest 
cylindrical  bones  of  the  legs,  also  many  ribs  and  vertebrae,  with  the 
smallest  bones  of  the  feet  and  tail  lying  close  upon  one  another,  so 
that  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  with  those  before  collected  by  Mr. 
Gibson,  they  had  made  up  an  entire  skeleton,  at  least  15  feet  high  ; 
they  were  imbedded  in  tenacious  clay  (which  is  dug  for  bricks),  being 
part  of  the  great  superficial  covering  of  diluvian  clay,  sand,  and 
gravel,  which  is  spread  over  a  large  portion  of  the  counties  of  Essex, 
Suffolk,  and  Norfolk,  and  along  the  whole  east  coast  of  England,  at 
irregular  intervals,  and  is  almost  everywhere  occasionally  discovered 
to  contain  remains  of  antediluvian  animals  similar  to  those  at  Ilford, 
viz.,  the  tusks,  teeth,  horns,  and  bones  of  the  elephant,  rhinoceros, 
horse,  and  stag,  etc.  Many  other  tusks  and  bones  have,  within  these 
few  years,  been  discovered  and  preserved  by  Mr.  Thompson,  the 
proprietor  of  Ilford  Clay  Pits,  some  of  which  he  has  presented  to  the 
Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  whilst  others  are  still  in  his  own  pos- 
session. Two  enormous  tusks,  also,  and  a  large  thigh-bone  of  an 
elephant,  from  the  same  place,  have  been  presented  by  J.  W.  Russell, 
Esq.,  to  the  Geological  Society.  These  bones  at  Ilford,  when  first 
uncovered,  are  usually  entire  and  perfect  in  their  form,  but  are  so 
extremely  tender  whilst  wet,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  extract 
them  unbroken.  On  being  dried,  however,  they  acquire  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  firmness.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that, 
although  Mr.  Gibson  has  preserved  fragments  of  almost  every  limb 
of  the  elephant  in  question,  they  are  so  much  broken  that  it  is 
impossible  for  the  skeleton  to  be  restored  and  mounted,  as  has  been 
done  in  the  case  of  the  elephant  of  the  same  species,  which  was 
found,  with  even  his  flesh  and  hair  perfectly  preserved,  in  a  cliff  of 
ice  on  the  shore  of  .Fungusia,  and  which  is  now  standing,  with  the 
dried  flesh  still  adhering  to  the  head,  in  the  Imperial  Museum  at 
St.  Petersburg. 


'&• 


[1848,  Part  II.,  p.  636.] 

In  removing  the  earth  on  the  north  side  of  the  Norman  Tower  at 
Bury  St.  Edmund's,  just  within  the  line  of  the  abbey  wall,  and  about 
9  feet  from  the  tower,  opposite  to  the  entrance  to  the  chamber  now 
used  as  the  ringing  loft,  the  workmen  have  come  upon  a  number  of 
skulls  and  other  bones  of  animals,  lying  about  2  feet  below  the  present 
surface,  and  rather  more  above  the  original  base-line  of  the  tower. 
Altogether  about  twenty  skulls,  more  or  less  perfect,  were  taken  out, 


VOL.  V, 


1 8  Geologic  mtd  Prehistoric  Remai?is. 

and  bones  of  the  trunk  and  limbs  in  proportion.  They  were  evidently 
animals  of  various  ages,  some  of  the  tusks  and  teeth  being  blunted 
with  use,  whilst  others  had  all  the  sharpness  of  full  vigour,  and  others 
had  not  arrived  at  maturity.  Doubts  being  entertained  whether  they 
were  the  bones  of  dogs  or  of  wolves,  the  osteology  of  which  is  so 
nearly  identical,  the  most  perfect  specimens  were  sent  up  to  Professor 
Owen,  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  as  the  highest  authority  in 
comparative  anatomy,  for  his  opinion,  and  he  determined  that  they 
are  all  of  the  wolf,  with  the  exception  of  one  skull,  which  is  that  of  a 
large  dog.     There  was  not  a  trace  of  human  remains. 

The  wolf  is  believed  to  have  been  extirpated  from  this  country 
between  five  and  six  hundred  years  ago,  the  last  record  of  its  existence 
in  any  numbers  being  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  when  a  decree  was 
issued  for  its  destruction,  erroneously  stated  by  Hume  to  have  been 
completed  by  King  Edgar's  tribute  of  wolves'  heads  exacted  from  the 
Welsh  in  the  tenth  century.  It  becomes,  therefore,  a  matter  of  curious 
speculation,  in  what  manner  the  remains  of  so  many  of  these  animals 
should  have  been  deposited  in  the  situation  described — more  especi- 
ally when  the  fact  of  their  being  above  the  original  surface  is  con- 
sidered. Why  should  the  bodies  of  so  many  wolves  have  been  brought 
into  such  a  place?  Was  it  in  any  way  connected  with  the  legend  of 
the  wolf  having  guarded  the  head  of  St.  Edmund  in  Eglesdene  (Hoxne) 
wood  ?  Was  there  any  custom  of  keeping  or  showing  off  wolves  in 
honour  of  that  apocryphal  history  ?  Or  were  any  of  the  lands  of  the 
monastery — amongst  which  was  the  manor  of  Woolpit  ( Wiilfpeta\ 
held  by  tenure  of  delivering  a  wolf's  carcase  to  the  Abbot,  like  King 
Edgar's  tribute  from  the  Welsh  ?     [See  note  2.] 

[1841,  Part  II.,  p.  81.] 

Several  very  remarkable  fossil  remains  have  recently  been  dis- 
covered :  I.  The  far  tooth  of  a  mammoth,  or  mastodon,  in  very 
excellent  preservation,  among  some  gravel  in  the  bed  of  the  Trent,  a 
few  miles  from  Nottingham.  It  weighs  9^  pounds,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  perfect  specimens  ever  seen  in  England.  The  antediluvian 
monster  is  judged  to  have  been  20  feet  high. 

2.  At  Cambridge,  in  forming  the  sewer  in  Northampton  Street,  the 
old  "  Bell  Lane,"  at  the  Castle  end,  a  splendid  specimen  of  the  tusk 
of  the  mammoth,  lying  about  10^  feet  from  the  surface  in  sand  and 
gravel,  in  a  horizontal  position,  upon  the  surface  of  the  gault.  Its 
extreme  length  was  6  feet  7  inches,  and  the  circumference  of  its 
largest  end  21^^-  inches;  being  in  a  soil  saturated  with  moisture,  it  was 
in  a  very  tender  friable  state,  and  a  portion  of  the  fossil  ivory  exfoliated 
when  exposed  to  the  air,  showing  its  beautiful  concentric  rings.  It 
was  removed,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Deck,  and  has  been 
added  to  the  museum  of  the  University.  Within  two  yards  of  the 
same  spot,  and  10  feet  below  the  surface,  a  rib  and  some  vertebral 


Fossil  Animal  Re^nains.  19 

bones  were  found,  which  from  their  size  no  doubt  belonged  to  the  same 
animal;  but  the  most  extraordinary  and  curious  relic  was  a  human  lower 
jaw,  with  the  teeth  perfect,  deposited  in  diluvial  detritus.  Mr.  Deck 
possesses  this  remarkable  relic  of  primeval  creation. 

3.  A  very  fine  specimen  of  the  Plesiosaurus  Dolochodeirus  in  the 
cliffs  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Whitby.  It  measured  in  length  15 
feet ;  the  neck  is  6  feet  6  inches  long,  exclusive  of  the  head,  and 
8  feet  5  inches  across  the  fore  paddle.  The  specimen  is  entire, 
without,  it  is  believed,  a  single  joint  wanting,  and  has  been  cleverly 
excavated  from  the  strata  in  which  it  was  found. 

4.  At  Leeds,  in  cutting  a  drain  on  the  Kirkstall  Road,  a  beautiful 
horn  of  the  elk  kind,  6i  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It 
was  laid  upon  the  gravel  bed,  covered  by  a  bed  of  solid  clay,  a,\  feet 
deep,  and  a  surface  of  earth  of  2  feet  deep  ;  is  in  a  state  of  fine 
preservation,  and  although  it  is  evident  that  a  considerable  part  of 
the  root  end  of  it  is  wanting,  it  still  measures  about  3  feet  in  length, 
and  contains  eight  stems  or  branches.  It  has  been  sent  to  the 
Leeds  Philosophical  and  Literary  Society. 

5.  At  a  soiree  of  the  Marquess  of  Northampton,  Dr.  Mantell 
exhibited  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  relics  of  a  "  former 
world  "  hitherto  discovered.  It  was  the  perfect  shell  or  a  carapace 
of  a  marine  turtle,  about  7  inches  in  length  and  4  in  breadth, 
imbedded  in  a  block  of  pure  white  chalk;  and  from  the  dark 
chocolate  colour  of  the  fossil,  the  contrast  with  the  matrix  was  very 
striking,  and  displayed  the  characters  of  this  extraordinary  organic 
remain  to  great  advantage.  The  specimen  was  discovered  by  Mr. 
Benstead,  of  Maidstone,  in  the  chalk  near  that  town.  Such  is  the 
state  of  this  fossil,  and  so  admirably  has  it  been  dissected  from  the 
stone,  that  the  upper  part  of  the  shell  admits  of  removal,  and  the 
bones  of  the  sternum  and  abdomen  are  thereby  exposed. 


[1839,  Part  I., p.  300,  301.] 

In  the  month  or  August,  1838,  workmen  began  to  excavate  the 
grounds  within  the  precincts  of  the  western  court  of  the  Royal 
Hospital,  Chelsea,  formerly  called  Thames  Shot,  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  common  sewer.  This  ground  was  the  site  of  King 
James's  College.  Upon  digging  down  about  15  feet,  the  foundation 
was  discovered,  consisting  of  brick  walls  of  irregular  form,  in  some 
places  18  and  20  feet  thick,  of  solid  and  compact  masses,  nearly 
impenetrable  to  the  pick-axe.  Hereabouts  were  discovered  two 
human  skeletons,  and  a  great  quantity  of  human  bones  ;  thus 
indicating  the  site  of  the  burial-ground  of  the  old  College,  which  at 
one  time  had  been  used  as  a  place  of  confinement  for  prisoners 
during  the   Dutch  war  in   1676.     As   the  workmen   proceeded   in 

2 — 2 


20  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Re?uaiiis. 

excavating  the  line  of  sewer  from  south  to  north,  at  the  depth  of 
about  2  2  feet,  great  quantities  of  bones  of  various  animals  were 
discovered  embedded  in  the  alluvial  soil,  consisting  principally  of 
extinct  species  of  the  genus  Bos,  among  which  were  thigh  and  other 
bones  of  enormous  size,  jaw-bones  with  teeth  in  good  preservation, 
ribs,  scapulae,  and  several  crania,  and  also  some  large  elks'  horns. 
The  whole  were  more  or  less  advancing  into  a  state  of  putrefaction, 
but,  after  a  few  days'  exposure  to  the  air,  the  exterior  coating  fell  off, 
and  they  became  white  and  clear.  A  selection  of  them  has  been 
forwarded  to  the  British  Museum,  where,  of  course,  they  will  be  open 
to  public  inspection.  A  quantity  of  bones  of  smaller  animals, 
supposed  to  be  those  of  the  hyena,  the  wolf,  and  the  wild  boar,  with 
several  tusks  of  the  latter,  were  also  found.  And  on  the  site  of  King 
James's  College  was  dug  up  a  coin  of  Tetricus,  and  a  brass  ring 
about  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  In  proceeding  northward  with  the 
excavation,  and  outside  the  limits  of  the  Royal  Hospital,  these  relics 
became  of  less  frequent  occurrence,  and  of  much  darker  hue,  con- 
sisting of  jaw-bones  and  skulls,  with  the  teeth  in  fine  preservation ;  and 
nearly  at  the  extremity  of  the  digging  was  turned  up  at  about  12  feet 
deep,  firmly  fixed  in  the  alluvial  silex,  a  large  iron  horse-shoe,  of 
rough  and  clumsy  shape,  and  much  worn  at  the  front,  together  with 
an  iron  bar,  very  thin,  much  corroded,  and  about  3  feet  in  length. 

T.  Faulkner. 

[1843,  Part  II., p.  303.] 

As  some  workmen  were  employed  in  digging  a  new  sewer  in 
Chelsea,  at  about  18  feet  deep,  they  discovered  a  great  variety  of 
bones,  forming  the  skeletons  of  various  animals,  some  of  which  are 
of  enormous  magnitude,  consisting  of  the  mastodon,  the  elephant, 
the  ox,  the  elk,  the  hyena,  and  the  wolf,  etc.,  likewise  the  skulls  of 
different  animals,  all  of  which  are  in  good  preservation.  Many  of  the 
specimens  of  the  above  have  been  selected,  and  are  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kingsley,  the  rector  of  the  parish. 

[1^,2,9,  Part  II.,  p.  557.] 

There  have  been  recently  discovered  in  the  parish  of  Motteston, 
on  the  South  side  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  bones  of  that  stupendous 
animal  supposed  to  be  the  Mammoth,  or  Mastodon.  Several  of 
the  vertebrae,  or  joints  of  the  back-bone,  measure  36  inches  in 
circumference  :  they  correspond  exactly  in  form,  colour,  and  texture, 
with  the  bones  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  in  North  America,  in 
a  vale  called  by  the  Indians  Big-bone  Swamp.  Also,  in  the  parish  of 
Northwood,  on  the  north  side  of  the  island,  the  bones  of  the  crocodile 
have  recently  been  found  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  of  Newport. 
They  seem  to  have  belonged  to  an  animal  of  that  species,  whose 
body  did  not  exceed  12  feet  in  length.     Their  calcareous  nature  is 


Fossil  Fish.  21 


not  altered ;  but  the  bones  of  the  mastodon  (found  on  the  south  side 
of  the  island)  contain  iron. 

[1856,  Pari  II.,  p.  361.] 

The  hock-bone  of  an  immense  animal  was  recently  discovered  in 
the  bed  of  the  river  Ancholme,  near  Brigg,  Lincolnshire.  The  hock 
is  64  inches  in  circumference,  and  the  bottom  part  of  the  bone  (which 
has  been  cut)  is  48  inches  in  circumference.  It  appears  to  be  the 
hock-bone  of  the  megatherium.  It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
R.  E.  Leary,  printer,  Lincoln, 

Fossil  Fish. 

[1859,  Part  L,  p.  466.] 

According  to  the  Sussex  Express,  some  extraordinary  specimens  of 
fossil  fish  have  been  dug  up  by  a  party  sinking  a  well  at  Mr.  Best's 
brewery,  that  seem  to  substantiate  Dr.  Mantell's  theory  of  this  portion 
of  the  Weald  having  been  in  remote  ages  the  site  of  an  estuary,  or 
the  bed  of  an  immense  river,  previous  to  the  crust  of  the  earth  being 
so  perfected  as  to  become  the  abode  of  mammalia,  and  very  possibly 
thousands  on  thousands  of  years  before  it  was  inhabited  by  man. 
The  well-diggers  under  the  super  soil  found  a  sand  rock,  extending 
in  depth  nearly  ten  feet,  beneath  which  they  came  upon  a  chalky 
debris  in  the  shape  of  marl,  intersected  occasionally  by  layers  of  a 
harder  substance.  At  the  depth  of  forty  feet  from  the  surface 
they  suddenly  came  on  a  smooth  sand  rock,  evidently  once  the 
bed  of  a  river,  for  it  was  here  they  came  upon  the  fossils,  and  it  is 
somewhat  extraordinary  that  they  should  hit  upon  the  specimens 
found  in  the  small  circumference  of  a  well.  One  of  them  is  a 
petrified  eel,  evidently  of  the  conger  species,  perfect  from  the  lips  to 
the  tip  of  the  tail,  measuring  a  trifle  over  4  feet  in  length,  and  lying 
on  its  belly,  with  the  body  slightly  undulated,  exactly  as  we  see  the 
muscular  movements  of  a  dying  eel  assume  when  we  have  severed 
the  upper  part  of  the  spine.  The  other  is  a  perfect  petrifaction  of  a 
fish  that  the  writer  of  this  article  is  not  naturalist  enough  to  define, 
but  it  seems  to  be  of  the  salmon  species,  which  the  tail  and  the 
dorsal  fin  specify,  but  the  lower  part  of  the  body  is  not  so  tapering  as 
the  salmon,  the  salmon  trout,  or  the  common  trout,  of  the  present 
day.  It  more  resembles  an  occasional  visitor  in  our  brooks  known 
as  the  "bull  trout,"  that  is  shorter  and  thicker  in  the  body,  but  in 
other  respects  very  much  resembles  the  salmon  trout.  The  length  of 
this  fossil  is  about  2  feet  6  inches,  a  size  the  genera  does  not  grow  to 
in  these  times,  and  the  depth  of  the  body  at  the  dorsal  fin,  9  inches. 
The  specimens  are  really  worthy  the  attention  of  the  geologist  and 
naturalist.  We  must  observe  that  the  fossils  are  covered  with  bi- 
valves and  other  shells,  evidently  the  accumulation  of  years  after  the 


22  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Rejuairis. 

fish,  by  getting  into  waters  charged  with  petrifying  qualities,  met  with 
death. 

Cave  Remains.     [See  Note  3.] 
[1785,/.  850.] 

I  enclose  you  an  exact  representation  of  the  caverns  near  Notting- 
ham, with  the  conjectures  of  a  learned  antiquary  concerning  the 
origin  of  these  remarkable  remains  of  antiquity.     {See  Plate  J.,  fig-  3.) 

R.  D. 

These  cavernous  structures  are  situated  three  parts  of  a  mile  south- 
west of  Nottingham,  in  the  park  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 
They  consist  chiefly  of  a  number  of  houses,  a  dove-house,  and  a 
church,  in  which  is  an  altar,  etc. ;  there  are  two  pillars,  and  there  was 
formerly  painting  upon  the  walls.  The  river  Leen,  or  Lin,  gently 
glides  through  a  part  of  them,  and  continues  its  course  towards 
Nottingham.  Various  have  been  the  opinions  of  antiquaries  con- 
cerning these  excavations ;  some  imagine  them  to  have  been  British 
colonies  :  others  think  them  of  much  later  date. 

"  One  may  easily  guess,"  says  Dr.  Stukeley,  "  Nottingham  to  have 
been  an  ancient  town  of  the  Britons  :  as  soon  as  they  had  proper 
tools,  they  fell  to  work  upon  the  rocks,  which  everywhere  offer  them- 
selves so  commodiously  to  make  houses  in,  and  I  doubt  not,  here  was 
a  considerable  collection  of  colonies  of  this  sort ;  that  which  I  have 
described  in  Plate  XXXIX.  (Itinerarium  Curiosum),  will  give  us  an 
idea  of  them.  It  is  in  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  park.  What  is 
visible  at  present  is  not  of  so  old  a  date  as  their  time,  yet  I  see  no 
doubt  but  it  is  formed  upon  theirs.  This  is  a  ledge  of  perpendicular 
rock,  hewn  into  a  church,  houses,  chambers,  dove-houses,  etc.  The 
church  is  like  those  in  the  rocks  of  Bethlehem,  and  other  places  in 
the  Holy  Land ;  the  altar  is  a  natural  rock,  and  there  has  been 
painting  upon  the  wall ;  a  steeple,  I  suppose,  where  a  bell  hung,  and 
regular  pillars ;  the  river,  winding  about,  makes  a  fortification  to  it, 
for  it  comes  at  both  ends  of  the  cliff,  leaving  a  plain  in  the  middle. 
The  way  into  it  was  by  a  gate  cut  out  of  the  rock,  and  with  an  oblique 
entrance  for  more  safety ;  without  is  a  plain,  with  three  niches,  which 
I  fancy  was  their  place  of  judicature,  or  the  like.  There  is  regularity 
in  it,  and  it  seems  to  resemble  that  square  called  the  Temple,  in  the 
Pictish  castle  (Plate  XXXVIII.),  in  Scotland." 

[1S05,  Pai-t  I.,  p.  409.] 

The  instrument  {fig.  7.)  was  found  in  a  natural  cavern,  28  feet 
below  the  surface,  on  a  ledge  in  the  rock  at  Burrington  Coomb,  in 
Somersetshire,  about  five  miles  from  Stanton-Drew. 

Within  50  yards  of  it,  in  1795,  was  found  in  another  natural 
cavern,  30  feet  deep,  an  ancient  catacomb  or  interment  of  the  dead. 


Cave  Remains.  '"' 


o 


consisting  of  near  fifty  perfect  skeletons  lying  parallel  to  each  other, 
some  of  whose  bones  were  petrified. 

It  is  of  fine  Corinthian  brass,  and  weighs  full  8h  times  its  bulk  in 
water,  and  I  apprehend  was  an  instrument  of  war.  In  1789  there  is 
an  account  of  another  catacomb  discovered  within  half  a  mile  of  this, 
which  contained  near  a  hundred  of  these  skeletons,  not  indeed 
petrified. 

Yours,  etc.  H.  W. 

[1810,  Part  I.,  p.  3.] 

Have  the  goodness  to  insert  the  following  singular  discovery  in 
your  next,  for  the  information  and  opinion  of  the  literati  and 
antiquaries.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  April,  and  the 
beginning  of  May,  1809,  Mr.  John  Bell  Hardwick,  of  Burcott,  in  the 
parish  of  Worfield,  in  the  county  of  Salop,  having  occasion  to  remove 
a  great  mass  of  accumulated  soil  from  the  base  of  an  irregularly- 
terminating  rock,  and  the  precipice  above  it,  over  his  meadow-ground 
adjoining,  on  9th  May  his  workmen  found  the  remains  of  a  large 
semicircular  cave,  in  which  were  discovered  many  human  bones, 
particularly  the  vertebrcz,  two  finger-bones,  a  leg-bone,  the  arm-bone 
which  connects  itself  with  the  shoulder,  and  several  ribs  scattered 
about  in  various  directions.  At  the  north  end  of  the  interior  of  the 
cave,  about  5  feet  from  the  level  of  the  ground,  on  the  ledge  of  the 
rock  (iS  inches  wide),  were  found  two  human  skulls  near  together, 
deposited  sideways,  and  the  scalp-bone  of  a  child ;  as  also  the  skull 
and  jaw-bones  of  a  dog,  the  lower-jaw  of  another  dog,  and  those  of  a 
sheep  and  a  pig,  and  one  of  some  small  animal,  which  likewise  lay  in 
the  same  position,  at  a  short  distance  from  each  other.  In  the  latter 
were  many  teeth,  but  not  so  sound  as  those  in  the  human  skulls. 
Many  other  bones  of  animals  were  also  discovered,  among  which 
were  the  shanks  of  deer :  some  of  the  animal-bones  had  been  broken 
to  pieces,  in  all  probability  previous  to  their  having  been  laid  there. 
At  the  same  time  there  was  perceived  an  hearth,  with  an  appearance 
of  ashes,  reduced  to  an  extremely  fine  powder,  with  a  very  few  scraps  of 
charcoal  lying  about,  seemingly  produced  from  the  oak ;  and  two  small 
pieces  of  flint  for  procuring  fire  were  also  found.  The  human  skulls 
and  bones,  with  some  of  the  bones  of  the  animals,  were  completely 
immured  in  a  kind  of  chalky  substance,  which  ran  perpendicularly 
through  a  chink  or  cleft  of  the  rock  in  a  narrow  stratum  ;  the  skulls 
were  filled  with  it,  and  such  of  the  bones  as  it  surrounded  or  covered 
were  well  preserved ;  the  roof-bone  of  the  mouth,  with  the  teeth  in 
these  skulls,  were  sound,  and  the  enamel  of  the  teeth  nearly  as  perfect 
as  of  a  healthy  person  recently  dead.  The  teeth  appeared  to  be  all 
complete  except  three  or  four  in  the  front.  The  upper  jaw  of  the 
first  skull  found,  with  the  roof-bone,  were  accidentally  broken  off  and 
destroyed  by  the  person  using  a  mattock  to  bring  down  the  soil  at 


24  Geologic  mid  Prehistoric  Remains, 

the  time  of  the  discovery.  This  skull,  having  been  covered  in  part 
with  common  earth  and  chalk,  was  not  quite  so  perfect  as  the  other. 

On  the  following  day  Mr.  Hardwick,  after  having  had  the  whole 
space  within  the  cave  cleared  out,  discovered  another  human  skull 
lying  on  its  side,  upon  the  ledge  of  the  rock,  at  the  inner  extremity  of 
the  cave,  about  the  same  distance  from  the  ground  as  the  others.  It 
appeared  as  if  forced  into  the  rock  by  violence ;  and  being  also 
overwhelmed  with  chalk,  its  preservation  may  be  attributed  to  that 
incrustation.  Within  this  skull  were  many  small  snail-shells,  and  a 
quantity  of  the  chalky  substance ;  the  teeth  were  equally  as  sound  and 
perfect  as  in  those  found  in  the  preceding  day,  with  the  exception 
only  of  the  two  in  the  front.  The  wise-teeth  were  just  approaching 
above  the  jaw-bone,  considerably  lower  than  the  others,  tending  to 
show  that  this  must  have  been  a  young  person ;  the  palate,  or  roof  of 
the  mouth,  was  also  well  preserved ;  so  that  the  little  irregularities 
therein  were  clearly  to  be  seen  of  a  bright  or  polished  surface.  It  is 
singular  that  no  part  of  the  lower  jaw-bone  of  the  human  subject  was 
in  any  one  instance  to  be  found  in  the  cave. 

[The  remainder  of  the  article  is  occupied  by  conjectures  as  to  the 
origin  of  this  cave.] 

[1822,  Part  /.,  p.  161.] 

Last  autumn,  through  the  activity  of  Mr.  Harrison  of  Kirby  Moor- 
side,  an  horizontal  cave  or  opening  was  discovered,  in  working  a  stone 
quarry  a  little  below  Kirkdale  Church,  Yorkshire.  On  the  2nd  of 
August  it  was  explored  to  the  extent  of  100  yards  or  more  in  length ; 
from  2  to  7  feet  in  height ;  and  from  4  to  20  feet  in  width ;  but  con- 
tracting and  expanding  its  dimensions  as  it  advances  eastward  under 
the  adjacent  and  incumbent  field.  The  present  opening  is  estimated 
to  be  about  four  yards  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  on  the  side  of 
a  sloping  bank,  and  the  cap  or  covering  is  principally  rock.  On  the 
floor  of  this  cave  or  opening  was  found  a  considerable  quantity  of 
loose  earth,  chiefly  calcareous,  amongst  which  were  animal  remains, 
much  decayed.  Several  bones  of  immense  magnitude,  teeth,  horns, 
stalactites,  etc.,  were  collected,  which  appear  to  have  been  those  of 
the  bear,  the  rhinoceros,  the  stag,  etc.  Whether  these  remains  are  to 
be  referred  to  the  antediluvian  world,  or  the  cave  may  have  been  sub- 
sequently the  resort  of  the  above  animals,  if  they  ever  existed  in  this 
island,  it  is  for  geologists  to  consider. 

[1822,  Part  I.,  p.  352.] 

In  p.  161,  we  noticed  the  discovery  of  an  ancient  cave  in  York- 
shire. The  following  is  a  minute  and  interesting  detail  extracted 
from  the  "Annals  of  Philosophy."  The  paper  was  communicated 
by  Mr.   Buckland.      It  gives  a  curious  account  of  an  antediluvian 


Cave  Remains.  25 


den   of   hyasnas    discovered  last    summer   at  Kirkdale,  near  Kirby 
Moorside  in  Yorkshire,  about  25  miles  north-east  of  York. 

The  den  is  a  natural  fissure  or  cavern  in  oolitic  limestone  extend- 
ing 300  feet  into  the  body  of  the  solid  rock,  and  varying  from  2  to 
5  feet  in  height  and  breadth.  Its  mouth  was  closed  with  rubbish, 
and  overgrown  with  grass  and  bushes,  and  was  accidentally  inter- 
sected by  the  working  of  a  stone  quarry.  It  is  on  the  slope  of  a 
hill  about  100  feet  above  the  level  of  a  small  river,  which  during 
great  part  of  the  year  is  engulphed.  The  bottom  of  the  cavern  is 
nearly  horizontal,  and  is  entirely  covered  to  the  depth  of  about  a 
foot  with  a  sediment  of  mud  deposited  by  the  diluvian  waters.  The 
surface  of  this  mud  was  in  some  parts  entirely  covered  with  a  crust 
of  stalagmite  ;  on  the  greater  part  of  it  there  was  no  stalagmite.  At 
the  bottom  of  this  mud,  the  floor  of  the  cave  was  covered  from  one 
end  to  the  other  with  teeth  and  fragments  of  bone  of  the  following 
animals  :  hysena,  elephant,  rhinoceros,  hippopotamus,  horse,  ox,  two 
or  three  species  of  deer,  fox,  water-rat,  and  birds. 

The  bones  are  for  the  most  part  broken,  and  gnawed  to  pieces, 
and  the  teeth  lie  loose  among  the  fragments  of  the  bones ;  a  very 
few  teeth  remain  still  fixed  in  broken  fragments  of  the  jaws.  The 
hyjena  bones  are  broken  to  pieces  as  much  as  those  of  the  other 
animals.  No  bone  or  tooth  has  been  rolled,  or  in  the  least  acted  on 
by  water,  nor  are  there  any  pebbles  mixed  with  them.  The  bones 
are  not  at  all  mineralized,  and  retain  nearly  the  whole  of  their  animal 
gelatin,  and  owe  their  high  state  of  preservation  to  the  mud  in  which 
they  have  been  imbedded.  The  teeth  of  the  hyaenas  are  most 
abundant;  and  of  these  the  greater  part  are  worn  down  almost  to 
the  stumps,  as  if  by  the  operation  of  gnawing  bones.  Some  of  the 
bones  have  marks  of  the  teeth  on  them  ;  and  portions  of  the  fcecal 
matter  of  the  hyenas  are  found  also  in  the  den.  These  have  been 
analyzed  by  Dr.  Wollaston,  and  found  to  be  composed  of  the  same 
ingredients  as  the  album  graecum,  or  white  fsces  of  dogs  that  are 
fed  on  bones,  viz.  carbonate  of  lime,  phosphate  of  lime,  and  triple 
phosphate  of  ammonia  and  magnesia ;  and,  on  being  shown  to  the 
keeper  of  the  beasts  at  Exeter  Change,  were  immediately  recognised 
by  him  as  the  dung  of  the  hysena.  The  new  and  curious  fact  of 
the  preservation  of  this  substance  is  explained  by  its  affinity  to  bone. 

The  animals  found  in  the  cave  agree  in  species  with  those  that 
occur  in  the  diluvian  gravel  of  England,  and  of  great  part  of  the 
Northern  hemisphere  ;  four  of  them,  the  hyaena,  elephant,  rhinoceros, 
and  hippopotamus,  belong  to  species  that  are  now  extinct,  and  to 
genera  that  live  exclusively  in  warm  climates,  and  which  are  found 
associated  together  only  in  the  Southern  portions  of  Africa  near  the 
Cape.  It  is  certain  from  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  interior  of  the 
den  (which  is  of  the  same  kind  with  that  afforded  by  the  ruins  of 
Herculaneum  and  Pompeii)  that  all  these  animals  lived  and  died  in 


26  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

Yorkshire,  in  the  period  immediately  preceding  the  deluge;  and  a 
similar  conclusion  may  be  drawn  with  respect  to  England  generally, 
and  to  those  other  extensive  regions  of  the  Northern  hemisphere, 
where  the  diluvian  gravel  contains  the  remains  of  similar  species  of 
animals.  The  extinct  fossil  hyaena  most  nearly  resembles  that 
species  which  now  inhabits  the  Cape,  whose  teeth  are  adapted  beyond 
those  of  any  other  animal  to  the  purpose  of  cracking  bones,  and 
whose  habit  it  is  to  carry  home  parts  of  its  prey  to  devour  them  in  the 
caves  of  rocks  which  it  inhabits.  This  analogy  explains  the  accumu- 
lation of  bones  in  the  den  at  Kirkdale.  They  were  carried  in  for 
food  by  the  hycenas  ;  the  smaller  animals,  perhaps,  entire  ;  the  larger 
ones  piecemeal ;  for  by  no  other  means  could  the  bones  of  such 
large  animals  as  the  elephant  and  the  rhinoceros  have  arrived  at  the 
inmost  recesses  of  so  small  a  hole,  unless  rolled  thither  by  water  ;  in 
which  case,  the  angles  would  have  been  worn  off  by  attrition,  but 
they  are  not. 

[1S22,  Part  II.,  p.  416.] 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  communication  has  been  made  in  your 
Miscellany,  concerning  a  recent  discovery  of  a  somewhat  interesting 
nature,  made  in  the  parish  of  Yattendon,  County  Berks.  Sometime  in 
the  year  18 19,  as  a  workman  was  digging  for  chalk  to  supply  a  lime- 
kiln, the  ground  suddenly  gave  way,  and  the  man  disappeared.  On 
search  being  made  into  the  cause  of  the  accident,  the  entrance  was  at 
length  found  into  an  extensive  cavern  or  excavation.  The  writer  of 
this  article  lately  visited  the  place,  and  explored,  by  the  aid  of  torches, 
a  great  portion  of  this  interesting  remain  of  an  age  long  since  past.  It 
consists  of  various  passages  intersecting  one  another  ;  the  roof  formed 
with  no  contemptible  skill,  and  supported  by  square  pillars  hewn  out 
of  the  chalk,  within  a  stratum  of  which  the  entire  cavern  appears  to  be 
formed.  The  interior  is  perfectly  dry,  and  of  unascertained  extent. 
The  proprietor,  who  is  in  the  habit  of  visiting  it  daily,  declares  that 
he  has  not  yet  met  with  a  limit.  I  have  little  hesitation  in  attributing 
the  formation  of  this  souterrain  to  the  aborigines  of  the  island,  and  in 
classing  it  with  those  caverns  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature,  discovered 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  which  have  been  pronounced, 
almost  with  the  common  consent  of  antiquaries,  the  dwellings  or 
hiding-places  of  the  Britons.  A  singular  circumstance  attached  to  this 
place  is,  that  no  tradition  of  its  existence  has  been  preserved  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  parish,  although,  by  a  date  found  within,  it 
would  appear  to  have  been  visited  in  the  early  part  of  the  17  th 
century.* 

Yours,  etc.         W.  H.  Brewer. 

*  As  a  proof  that  no  tradition  of  the  place  had  been  preserved,  it  may  be 
remarked  that  no  notice  is  taken  of  its  existence  in  the  answers  of  the  Rev.  George 
Bellas,  Rector  of  Yattendon,  to  the  Berkshire  Queries  proposed  by  the  Rev. 
Edward  Rowe  Mores,  in  the  year  1759. 


Cave  Remains.  27 


'l\Z2i,Part  II.,p.  223.] 

About  the  year  181 9,  two  young  men  undertook  to  explore  a  sort 
of  opening  or  crevice  in  the  rocks  on  the  north  side  of  Seaham  Dene, 
Durham,  where,  after  clearing  away  the  earth  to  the  extent  of  15  feet, 
they  discovered  a  considerable  quantity  of  bones,  several  human, 
consisting  of  skulls  with  teeth  entire,  and  the  rest  of  birds  and 
quadrupeds.  Also  among  the  soil  thrown  out  were  found  many 
marine  shells,  such  as  cockles,  mussels,  and  limpets. 

There  was,  likewise,  among  the  above  a  stag  or  deer's  horn,  of  a 
pale  yellow  colour,  about  8  inches  and  a  half  in  circumference  at  the 
base,  with  the  usual  hollow,  consisting  of  two  antlers,  one  broken, 
and  the  other  whole,  fluted  all  over,  as  if  by  the  corrosion  of  time. 
The  circumference  of  the  larger  broken  one  is  6^-  inches 
The  rock  is  20  feet  high  or  more,  and  ranges  along  for  a  considerable 
way,  forming  one  side  of  a  narrow  dell,  or  dene.  R.  W. 

[1S24,  Part  II.,  pp.  627,  628.] 

The  circumstances  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  antediluvian 
cavern  at  Banwell,  in  Somersetshire,  are  as  follows : 

Some  miners  engaged  in  sinking  a  shaft  in  search  of  calamine, 
intersected  a  steep  and  narrow  fissure,  which  after  descending  80  feet, 
opened  into  a  spacious  cavern,  150  feet  long  and  about  30  feet  wide, 
and  from  20  to  30  feet  high.  From  the  difficulty  of  descending  by 
this  fissure,  it  was  lately  judged  desirable  to  make  an  opening  in  the 
side  of  the  hill  a  little  below,  in  a  line  which  might  lead  directly  to 
the  interior  of  the  cave.  This  gallery  had  been  conducted  but  a  few 
feet,  when  the  workmen  suddenly  penetrated  another  cavern  of  inferior 
dimensions  to  that  which  they  were  in  search  of,  and  found  its  floor 
to  be  covered,  to  a  depth  which  has  not  yet  been  ascertained,  with  a 
bed  of  sand,  mud,  and  fragments  of  limestone,  through  which  were 
dispersed  an  enormous  quantity  of  bones,  horns,  and  teeth.  The 
thickness  of  this  mass  has  been  ascertained  by  a  shaft  sunk  into  it, 
to  be  in  one  place  nearly  40  feet.  Many  large  baskets  full  of  bones 
have  already  been  extracted,  belonging  chiefly  to  the  ox  and  deer 
tribes ;  of  the  latter  there  are  several  varieties,  including  the  elk. 
There  are  also  a  few  portions  of  the  skeleton  of  a  wolf,  and  of  a 
gigantic  bear.  The  bones  are  mostly  in  a  state  of  preservation  equal 
to  that  of  common  grave  bones,  although  it  is  clear  from  the  fact  of 
some  of  them  belonging  to  the  great  extinct  species  of  bear,  that  they 
are  of  antediluvian  origin.  In  the  roof  of  the  cave  there  is  a  large 
chimney-like  opening,  which  appears  to  have  communicated  formerly 
with  the  surface  ;  but  which  is  choked  up  with  fragments  of  limestone, 
interspersed  with  mud  and  sand,  and  adhering  together  imperfectly 
by  a  stalagmitic  incrustation.  Through  this  aperture  it  is  probable 
the  animals  fell  into  the  cave,  and  perished  in  the  period  preceding 


28  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

the  inundation  by  which  it  was  filled  up.  The  immense  quantity  of 
the  bones  shows  the  number  of  individuals  that  were  lost  in  this 
natural  pitfall  to  have  been  very  great.  In  this  manner  cattle  are  now 
continually  lost  by  falling  into  similar  apertures  in  the  limestone  hills 
of  Derbyshire.  There  is  nothing  to  induce  a  belief  that  it  was  a  den 
inhabited  by  hyenas,  like  the  cave  of  Kirkdale,  or  by  bears,  like 
those  in  Germany ;  its  leading  circumstances  are  similar  to  those  of 
the  ossiverous  cavities  in  the  limestone  rock  at  Oreston  near 
Plymouth. 

[1825,  Part  II. ,  p.  62S.] 

Professor  Buckland  has  lately  examined  two  caves  in  Devonshire, 
in  both  of  which  he  found,  in  a  bed  of  mud  beneath  a  crust  of  calc- 
sinster,  gnawed  fragments  and  splinters  of  bones,  with  teeth  of  hyaenas 
and  bears.  There  were  no  entire  bones,  except  the  solid  ones  of  the 
toes,  heels,  etc.,  as  at  Kirkdale,  which  were  too  hard  for  the  teeth  of 
the  hyaena.  They  appear  simply  to  have  been  dens,  but  less 
abundantly  inhabited  than  that  of  Kirkdale.  In  the  same  cave 
Professor  Buckland  found  one  tooth  of  the  rhinoceros,  and  two  or 
three  only  of  the  horse. 

1\%2T,  Part  I.,  p.  351.] 

In  the  summer  of  1826,  as  some  workmen  were  quarrying  stones  in 
Uphill  Hill,  Somerset,  they  crossed  a  fissure  containing  a  quantity  of 
bones.  In  the  course  of  further  search  were  discovered  bones  of  the 
elephant,  rhinoceros,  ox,  horse,  bear,  hog,  hyaena,  fox,  polecat,  water- 
rat,  mouse,  and  birds.  Nearly  all  the  bones  of  the  larger  species 
were  so  gnawed  and  splintered,  and  evidently  of  such  ancient  fracture, 
that  little  doubt  can  exist  that  it  was  a  hyaena's  den,  similar  to  Kirk- 
dale, and  Kent's  Hole.  The  bones  and  teeth  of  the  extinct  species 
of  hyaena  were  very  abundant.  The  more  ancient  bones  were  found 
in  the  upper  region  of  the  fissure,  firmly  imbedded ;  further  down,  in 
a  wet  loam,  there  was  an  innumerable  quantity  of  birds'  bones  only, 
principally  of  the  gull  tribe.  These  Professor  Buckland  supposes  to 
have  been  introduced  by  foxes.  The  cavern  extends  about  40  feet 
from  north  to  south,  varying  from  14  to  6  feet  from  east  to  west. 
At  its  entrance  the  floor  was  found  covered  with  sheep-bones,  and  on 
digging  into  the  mud  and  sand  of  which  it  consisted,  several  bones  of 
the  cuttle-fish  were  found,  and  the  pelvis  and  a  few  bones  of  the  fox. 
The  fissure  is  vertical,  about  50  feet  deep  from  the  surface  to  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  and  is  situated  at  the  western  extremity  of  Mendip, 
in  a  bold  mural  front  of  limestone  strata.  The  greater  part  of  the 
bones  have  been  presented  to  the  Bristol  Institution ;  Mr.  Buckland 
has  a  few  specimens,  and  the  Geological  Society  in  London  a  few 
more. 


Cave  Remains.  29 


[182S,  Pari  IT., p.  i68.] 

As  some  quarrymen  were  lately  levelling  the  ground  before  Litfield 
Place,  near  the  new  observatory  on  Clifton  Down,  County  Gloucester, 
they  found  the  ground  unusually  hollow,  and  on  making  an  opening, 
a  shaft  about  13  feet  deep  was  discovered,  on  descending  which  they 
were  led  into  an  apartment  or  cave,  nearly  13  or  14  feet  high,  in  the 
direction  leading  to  the  Avon  river,  and  to  which  there  evidently 
appeared  to  have  been  once  a  communication,  but  which  is  now 
stopped  up  with  rubbish  and  dirt.  It  is  not  improbably  supposed 
that  it  either  was,  or  led  to  the  cavern  which  is  called  in  some  of  our 
old  Chronicles  the  Cave  of  St.  Vincent. 

[1835,  Part  II.,  p.  303.] 

A  singular  discovery  has  been  made  in  the  parish  of  Tinwell,  near 
Stamford,  of  a  large  subterranean  cavern,  supported  in  the  centre  by 
a  stone  pillar.  The  labourers  of  Mr.  Edward  Pawlett  were  ploughing 
in  one  of  his  fields,  abutting  on  the  road  from  Tinwell  to  Casterton, 
when  one  of  the  horse's  feet  sank  into  the  earth,  by  which  the 
discovery  was  made.  A  more  minute  investigation  having  taken 
place,  it  was  found  to  be  an  oblong  square,  extending  in  length  to 
between  30  and  40  yards,  and  in  breadth  to  about  8  feet.  The  sides 
are  of  stone,  the  ceiling  is  flat,  and  at  one  end  are  two  doorways, 
bricked  up. 

\\%1\,  Part  I.,  pp.  \(),  20.\ 

Having  frequently  received  several  interesting  specimens  of  organic 
remains  from  the  caves  of  Blackdown  Hills  (Devon),  I  had  long 
contemplated  to  visit  them,  more  especially  having  also  another  object 
in  view,  of  examining  the  curious  variegated  flints  and  siliceous 
substances,  with  which  I  knew  the  surface  of  those  eminences  was 
overspread ;  and  lately,  in  a  mineralogical  excursion  in  that 
neighbourhood,  I  accomplished  my  design,  and  beg  leave  to  submit 
to  your  notice  a  few  cursory  sketches  and  observations  on  the 
subject  connected  with  my  ramble. 

The  north-east  side  of  Blackdown  is  situated  within  20  miles  of  this 
city,  and  is  plainly  observed  at  no  great  distance  on  the  road  from 
Cullumpton  to  Wellington.  I  was  informed  that  the  estate  where  the 
greater  number  of  these  caves  are  situated,  consists  of  300  acres 
of  land,  the  property  of  a  gentleman  of  Honiton,  but  that  the  strata 
containing  the  caves  were  let  separately,  for  the  purpose  of  excavating 
a  sandstone  of  a  peculiar  quality  for  sharpening  iron  ;  these  whet- 
stones are  manufactured  on  the  spot,  and  considered  the  best  of  the 
kind  in  England ;  and  a  small  trade  is  carried  on  of  them  at  Cul- 
lumpton, and  sent  to  different  parts  of  the  kingdom.  On  my  arrival 
at  a  short  distance  from  Blackdown,  I  ascended  to  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  the  prospect  from  which  is  very  extensive,  grand,  and  imposing. 


30  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

Towards  the  S.W.,  about  sixteen  miles  distant,  part  of  the  English 
Channel  is  seen  ;  though  this  delightful  picturesque  scenery  was  so  ani- 
mating, I  was  still  more  gratified  on  looking  beneath  my  feet,  to  behold 
the  chequered,  mossy  coating  of  the  earth,  strewed  over  with  countless 
coloured  flints  of  various  hues,  many  of  them  magnificent,  and  of  the 
brightest  colours.  I  selected  some  of  the  choicest  to  deposit  in  my 
cabinet  collection,  as  a  precious  addition,  far  surpassing  any  I 
possessed  before.  Among  them  were  some  singularly  fine,  viz.,  one 
that  the  greater  part  had  passed  into  a  light  transparent  crystallization, 
bordered  with  a  rich  ruby  red  ;  another  that  had  turned  into  an 
orange-red  carnelian,  but  more  diaphanous  ;  one  into  a  deep  crimson 
jasper,  and  another  of  a  light  amber  complexion,  speckled  with 
flowery  golden  spots,  etc  These  flints,  which  are  so  diffusely 
scattered  over  the  Blackdown  and  Halsdown  Hills,  seemed  to  perplex 
Deluc  how  they  could  come  there.  I  consider  that  they  were  an 
immense  shower  of  large  and  small  pebbles  which  were  thrown  from 
the  coast  at  the  deluge,  and  in  process  of  time  obtained  their  present 
siliceous  quality ;  for  the  loose  fossil  shells  found  here  near  the 
surface  are  often  of  the  same  substance  ;  as  I  have  met  with  large 
fossil  bivalve  shells  become  black  flints ;  also  clumps  of  fossil  uni- 
valves and  bivalves  from  the  same  hills,  that  have  passed  into  red 
jasper  of  a  very  fine  texture. 

Proceeding  on  my  route  easterly,  I  stretched  at  too  great  a  distance 
beyond  the  caves.  I  then  turned  to  the  left  to  a  steep  declivity,  and 
with  difficulty  descended,  it  being  almost  perpendicular,  and  about 
half-way  down  the  hill  alighted  on  a  compact  sand-bank  terrace,  which 
extended  the  whole  length  and  range  of  the  entrances  to  the  different 
caves,  which  were  of  a  western  aspect,  and  nearly  similar  to  each 
other  at  the  openings,  from  5  to  6  feet  in  height,  and  4  broad,  but 
wider  and  higher  internally,  extending  horizontally,  more  or  less,  from 
200  to  300  feet,  and  some  ancient  ones,  which  are  now  closed,  were 
400  feet  and  upwards  ;  but  the  length  of  time  it  required  in  conveying 
the  sand-stones  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  rendered  it  more  con- 
venient to  cut  new  apertures,  as  it  would  be  liable  to  imminent  danger 
to  widen  the  caves  too  near  each  other ;  for  should  the  mass  give  way, 
the  workmen  must  inevitably  be  crushed  to  death.  The  fine  ruby 
complexion  of  the  youths  employed  in  excavating  the  earth  excited 
my  surprise,  as  it  exceeded  the  usual  flush  of  nature ;  also  as  I  stood 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  I  saw  a  tall,  slender  old  man,  coming  out 
of  the  gloomy  recesses,  whose  visage  was  a  light  carmine,  the  colour 
probably  the  effect  of  some  peculiar  essence  arising  from  the  bowels 
of  the  earth.  The  men  behaved  well,  rationally  replied  to  my  in- 
terrogatories, and  assisted  me  in  procuring  fossils,  which  consisted  of 
several  clumps  and  groups  of  univalves  and  bivalves,  small  white 
nodules  of  different  sizes,  round  as  marbles ;  trigonia  aliformis,  fig- 
formed  alcyonite,  poppi-formed  alcyonite,  and  lemon-shaped  alcyonite. 


Cave  Re7nains.  31 


This  last  so  exactly  resembled  the  lemon  that  some  fine  specimens  I 
possess  would,  at  a  short  distance,  be  mistaken  for  them.  The  sand- 
stone containing  the  fossils  was  so  damp  that  with  little  exertion  I 
could  break  it  asunder  with  my  hands  to  sort  out  the  shells,  and 
applying  them  to  my  mouth,  by  the  taste  appeared  to  retain  their 
original  sea-salt  quality.  This  vast  mass  and  beds  of  marine  sub- 
stances is  a  totally  distinct  sea-deposit  from  that  at  Halsdown,  at  only  a 
comparative  short  distance,  the  fossil  species  and  variety  are  manifestly 
different ;  the  spacious  and  lofty  Woodbury  Common  lies  between 
them,  in  which  are  no  marine  fossils,  and  clearly  evinces  was  never 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  as  I  have  examined  more  than  ten  times  over 
the  greatest  depths  that  have  been  penetrated  in  this  common,  and 
could  never  discover  a  relict  of  them.  The  Blackdown  sandstone 
deposit  is  very  abrupt,  and  appears  of  greater  length  than  breadth, 
and  was  lifted  up  from  the  ocean  from  a  north-eastern  direction. 
[The  remainder  of  the  article  is  purely  speculative.] 

S.    WOOLMER. 

[1867,  Part  I.,  pp.  357,  358.] 

Since  the  days  of  Camden,  the  caves  on  the  north  shore  of  the 
Thames  near  Tilbury  have,  now  and  then,  excited  the  attention  of  a 
few  of  the  more  active  antiquaries,  without  receiving  any  satisfactory 
explanation.  Camden  concluded  that  they  were  of  British  origin, 
and  were  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  storing  corn,  as  underground 
granaries.  Up  to  the  present  day,  these  pits,  as  well  as  others  of  the 
same  kind  in  various  parts  of  Kent,  seem  never  to  have  been  clearly 
understood ;  and,  somewhat  strangely,  have  been  the  subject  of 
various  opinions  and  theories,  without  eliciting,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  a 
solution  beyond  the  possibility  of  objection.  The  most  recent 
account  of  these  caves,  in  or  adjoining  the  villages  of  Chadwell  and 
Little  Thurrock  near  West  Tilbury,  appears  in  the  Buildifig  Neivs  of 
February  ist  in  the  present  year;  and  as  these  caves  seem  precisely 
similar  to  the  pits  in  Kent,  where  chalk  abounds  at  no  very  great 
depth,  they  may  all  be  included  in  the  clear  description  given  in  the 
Building  News.,  the  result  of  an  investigation  made  by  some  explorers, 
with  care  and  discrimination  : — 

"  A  party  of  adventurers  have,  however,  recently  organised  a  visit, 
and  one  of  them  obliges  us  with  notes  of  what  he  saw.  These  Dene 
holes,  as  the  country  people  call  them  (?  Dane  holes),  are  situated  in 
a  wood  called  Hairy-man's  Wood,  in  the  parish  of  Tilbury.  They 
had  brought  a  long  stout  rope,  and  had  tied  a  short  stick  at  one  end, 
and  invited  us  one  by  one  to  sit  across  the  stick  and  allow  ourselves 
to  be  lowered  down  the  crater,  and  down  the  shaft  of  unknown  depth 
to  which  the  crater  formed  a  convenient  funnel.  It  looked  ugly,  but 
one  of  us  volunteered  to  make  the  first  descent.  The  shaft  was  about 
3  ft.  in  diameter  and  about  85  ft.  deep.     At  the  bottom  of  the  shaft 


32  Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 

we  came  to  a  cone  some  25  ft.  high,  which  would  just  have  filled  the 
crater  above,  since  it  consisted  of  the  loose  soil  which  had  crumbled 
in  from  the  sides  of  the  shaft  and  formed  the  crater.  At  the  bottom 
of  the  shaft  were  two  openings  opposite  to  one  another,  each  of  which 
gave  access  to  a  group  of  three  caves.  The  ground-plan  of  the  caves 
was  like  a  six-leaved  flower,  diverging  from  the  central  cup,  which  is 
represented  by  the  shaft.  The  central  cave  of  each  three  is  about 
14  yards  long  and  4  yards  wide,  and  about  6  yards  high.  The  side 
caves  are  smaller,  about  7  yards  long  and  2  yards  wide.  The  section  is 
rather  singular  :  taken  from  end  to  end,  the  roof  line  is  horizontal ;  but 
the  floor  line  rises  at  the  end  of  the  cave,  so  that  a  sketch  of  the 
section  from  end  to  end  of  the  two  principal  caves  is  like  the  outline 
of  a  boat,  the  shaft  being  in  the  position  of  the  mainmast.  The 
section  across  the  cave  is  like  the  outUne  of  an  egg  made  to  stand  on 
its  broader  end.  They  are  all  hewn  out  of  the  chalk,  the  tool  marks, 
like  those  which  would  be  made  by  a  pick,  being  still  visible.  A 
good  deal  of  loose  chalk  lies  on  the  floor,  fallen  probably  from  the 
sides.  It  is  under  this  chalk  that  there  is  a  chance  of  finding  some 
traces  of  the  original  use  of  the  caves  ;  the  caves  were  dry,  and  the 
air  pure.  We  descended  another  shaft  which  led  into  other  caves, 
much  like  in  plan  and  dimensions  to  those  above  described.  If  the 
rest  of  the  open  and  closed  and  conjectured  shafts  led  to  similar 
caves,  the  total  amount  of  cave  room  is  very  considerable.  We  saw 
nothing  which  would  give  a  clue  to  the  purpose  for  which  these 
singular  excavations  were  made,  or  to  the  date  of  their  excavation, 
unless  the  pickmarks  which  we  saw  indicate  that  they  were  dug  out, 
not  with  flint  or  bronze  celts  of  the  usual  shapes,  but  with  a  metal 
tool  like  a  pick  of  later  date  than  the  age  of  celts.  We  were  told 
there  are  similar  Dene  holes  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  which  we 
hope  to  explore  some  day." 

The  name  JDene,  or  Dafie,  is  one  of  the  popular  appellations,  not 
uncommon  in  Kent,  given  to  fields  and  places  which  contain  remains 
of  antiquity  unintelligible  and  mysterious,  and  ascribed,  ages  since,  to 
the  Danes,  when  their  invasions  were  comparatively  new  in  tradition. 
That  many  of  these  pits  are  of  very  remote  antiquity,  there  can  be  no 
doubt ;  but  that  they  ever  served  as  granaries,  or  as  dwelling-places, 
is  highly  improbable,  unless  under  some  very  exceptional  circum- 
stances. They  are  found  nowhere,  I  believe,  but  where  chalk 
abounds  ;  and  this  fact  induced  me,  years  ago,  to  inquire  of  my 
friend,  Mr.  Bland  (one  of  our  first  authorities  in  matters  relating  to 
agriculture),  whether  they  were  more  or  less  than  chalk  pits  ?  Mr. 
Bland  at  once  confirmed  my  opinion,  and  assured  me  that  occasion- 
ally they  were  used  at  the  present  day;  and  that  he  knew  quite 
recent  instances  of  their  being  sunk. 

The  most  conclusive  evidence  of  the  antiquity  of  these  chalk  pits 
is  afforded  by  Pliny,  the  naturalist,  whose  testimony  has,  somewhat 


Cave  Remains.  33 


strangely,  been  overlooked.  Speaking  of  the  various  kinds  of  earths, 
and  especially  of  marls  (a  Gaulish  and  British  word,  he  remarks),  he 
describes  the  white  chalk,  called  argentaria — that  is  to  say,  the  finer 
kind,  such  as  is  used  by  silversmiths  for  cleaning  plate.  It  is 
obtained,  he  says,  by  means  of  pits  sunk  like  wells,  with  narrow 
mouths,  to  the  depth,  sometimes,  of  100  feet,  when  they  branch 
out  like  the  veins  of  mines;  and  this  kind  is  chiefly  used  in 
Britain.* 

It  is  evident  that  some  of  these  pits  must  be  anterior  to  the  time  of 
Pliny,  and  probably  many  centuries.  Varro,  who  was  contemporary 
with  Caesar  and  Pompey,  speaks  of  the  use  of  chalk  in  Gaul  for 
manure  as  something  remarkable  and  novel  to  him,  an  Italian. t 
The  great  naturalist  is  as  much  at  home  in  describing  the  British 
and  Gaulish  marls,  their  respective  powers  and  duration  as  manure 
for  land,  as  if  he  had  travelled  so  far  north  on  purpose  to  obtain 
information.  But  interesting  as  the  information  is,  it  belongs  to  the 
subject  of  agriculture ;  and  my  object  is  to  rectify  opinions  respecting 
these  ancient  subterranean  monuments.  There  is  an  interesting  in- 
scription, however,  which  should  not  be  forgotten  in  connection  with 
the  British  chalk  and  marl.  It  is  a  dedication  by  a  successful  dealer 
in  British  chalk,  who,  in  consequence  of  having  prosperously  imported 
into  the  low  country,  now  known  as  Zealand  (where  the  inscription 
was  found),  his  freights  of  chalk,  discharged  his  vows  to  the  goddess 
Nehalennia. 

C.  Roach  Smith. 

[1863,  Part  11. ,  p.  286.] 

K  cavern  similar  to  those  found  in  England  and  on  the  Continent, 
containing  osseous  remains  of  men  and  of  lower  animals,  has  lately 
been  discovered  on  the  property  of  Mr.  John  Malcolm,  of  Poltalloch. 
By  the  liberality  of  that  gentleman  the  cavern  has  been  fully  explored, 
and  its  contents  carefully  collected  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Mapleton  and 
Macbride.  These  contents  consist  of  the  remains  of  men,  of  other 
animals,  and  shells  of  edible  shellfish.  The  only  article  of  manu- 
facture found  in  it  was  a  small  celt,  a  flint  flake ;  and  the  only 
domestic  utensil  was  a  scallop-shell,  or  pecteu  maxvnus — the  shell 
used  by  the  ancient  Celts  as  a  drinking  vessel.  The  cavern  was 
evidently  used  as  a  place  of  residence,  for  beneath  the  cave  stuff,  or 
debris,  were  found  ashes,  bits  of  charred  wood,  and  bones,  a  flint 
pebble  for  striking  fire,  and  stones  which,  from  their  form  and  posi- 
tion, seemed  to  have  served  for  seats.     When  first  discovered,  the 

*  Alterum  genus  alb?e  cretse  argentaria  est.  Petitur  ex  alto,  in  centenos  pedes 
actis  plerumqueputeis,  ore  angustatis ;  intus,  ut  in  metallis,  spatiante  vena.  Hac 
maxime  Britannia  utitur. — "Nat.  Hist.,"  lib.  xvii.,  cap.  viii. 

J  In  Gallia  Transalpina  intus  ad  Rhenum  cum  exercitum  ducerem,  aliquot 
regiones  accessi,  ubi  nee  vitis,  nee  olea,  nee  poma  nascerentur  ubi ;  agros  st  ercora- 
rent  Candida  fossicia  creta. — "  De  Re  Rustica,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  7. 

VOL.  V.  ?, 


34  Geologic  and  Prehisto7'ic  Remains. 


human  remains  were  supposed  to  have  been  those  of  persons  who 
had  fled  there  for  shelter  when  the  adjacent  country  was  laid  waste 
by  fire  and  sword  during  the  ruthless  raid  of  Alister  M'CoU  Citto. 
The  absence,  however,  of  metal  weapons  and  culinary  vessels,  both 
which  were  of  universal  use  in  the  days  of  this  scourge  of  Argyleshire, 
and  which  undoubtedly  would  have  been  conveyed  by  the  refugees  to 
their  place  of  concealment,  and  the  presence  of  celts  and  scallop- 
shells,  seem  to  disprove  this  opinion,  and  to  point  to  a  much  higher 
antiquity  for  its  inhabitants.  What  seems  to  confirm  this  opinion  is 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  bones,  teeth,  and  shells  are  as  firmly  em- 
bedded in  a  calcareous  matrix  as  are  the  fossil  remains  in  the  lias 
and  carboniferous  limestone.  Mr.  Macbride  is  engaged  in  examining 
its  contents  and  preparing  a  report  on  the  subject,  which,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  will  throw  additional  light  on  the  history  of  this  cavern  and 
its  occupants. — Glasgow  Herald. 

Scottish  Sculptured  Caves.* 

[1S65,  Pari  II.,  p.  579.] 

A  discovery  has  just  been  made  in  one  of  the  many  caves  which 
occur  on  the  coast  of  Fife,  near  Wemyss,  which  is  of  much  interest. 

It  is  known  that  many  of  these  caves  were  used  in  the  early  ages 
of  Christianity  in  this  country  as  retreats  of  anchorites  and  as  places 
of  worship.  A  cave  at  Caiplie,  near  Anstruther,  is  believed  to  have 
sheltered  St.  Adrian,  and  its  walls  are  sculptured  with  many  crosses 
of  simple  outline,  the  devotional  expression  of  its  early  occupants ; 
while  cuttings  in  the  rock  seem  to  point  out  the  site  of  the  altar  and 
other  ecclesiastical  arrangements.  The  cave  of  St.  Rule  at  St. 
Andrews  is  of  this  description. 

On  Thursday  last  [Sept.  21]  a  party  from  Edinburgh,  consisting  of 
Professor  Simpson,  Mr.  Joseph  Robertson,  Professor  Duns,  and  Dr. 
Paterson,  of  Leith,  while  rambling  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wemyss, 
were  led  to  inspect  some  of  the  caves  in  that  quarter.  In  one  of 
them  they  found  a  kitchen-midden,  containing  the  bones  of  many 
animals,  which  had  been  split  for  the  sake  of  extracting  the  marrow, 
and  some  of  which  were  artificially  pointed. 

On  entering  the  next  cave  they  were  startled  on  finding  one  of  its 
walls  sculptured  with  the  forms  of  several  "  elephants,"  "  spectacles," 
birds,  fish,  and  other  animals  and  objects  which  are  now  familiar 
from  their  frequent  occurrence  in  Mr.  Stuarts  work,  "The  Sculptured 
Stones  of  Scotland,"  while  small  crosses,  of  early  type,  are  cut  in 
various  parts  of  the  cave. 

Some  of  the  other  caves  bear  abundant  marks  of  recent  carvings, 

[*  Although  this  and  the  following  article  do  not  strictly  fall  under  the  title  which 
has  been  given  to  this  section  of  our  subject,  it  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  see 
how  cave  dwellings  have  survived.] 


Caves  in  Ireland.  35 


the  walls  being  absolutely  covered  with  the  names  of  recent  visitors 
cut  out  on  the  rock.  To  avoid  the  risk  of  injury  to  the  unique 
sculptures  now  discovered,  the  cave  will  henceforth  be  secured  from 
indiscriminate  admission.  Since  the  discovery,  these  figures  have 
been  inspected  by  Mr.  Stuart,  who  means  to  give  accurate  drawings 
of  the  whole  in  the  second  volume  of  "  The  Sculptured  Stones  of 
Scotland,"  now  almost  completed. — Aberdeen  Journal.    [See  Note  4.] 

Caves  in  Ireland. 

[1861, /'a;-///.,/.  357.] 

We  reprint  the  following  letter,  which  has  appeared  in  the  Dublin 
Evening  Mail,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  information  upon  the  matter 
from  some  of  our  Irish  correspondents  [see  Note  5]  : — 

"  Ballinasloe,  September  13. 

"  In  the  month  of  July  last  I  sent  you  the  particulars  of  some 
ancient  regal  ornaments  which  had  been  found  by  a  countryman,  and 
purchased  from  him  by  the  Messrs.  Hynes  of  this  town.  The  notice 
I  then  wrote  attracted  general  attention  throughout  the  country,  and 
several  persons  expressed  an  anxiety  to  obtain  the  ornaments,  which 
were  of  pure  gold,  and  consisted  of  a  crown  and  collar.  An  intima- 
tion was  even  sent  to  the  authorities,  under  the  regulations  of  treasure- 
trove,  demanding  the  ornaments — of  course,  at  their  proper  value. 
They  have  since  been  publicly  exhibited  in  the  collection  of  the 
Dublin  Society,  and  much  admired  by  those  who  relish  antiquarian 
researches.  The  Messrs.  Hynes  offered  the  countryman  a  handsome 
douceur  if  he  would  point  out  where  he  found  the  relics  ;  but  this  the 
wily  native  knowingly  declined  to  do,  no  doubt  expecting  that  other 
articles  of  value  might  yet  be  discovered  in  the  same  locality.  He 
has,  however,  at  length  divulged  the  particulars. 

"The  man  resided  at  a  place  called  Skea,  near  the  celebrated  ruins 
of  Clonmacnoise,  on  the  brink  of  the  Shannon.  In  the  course  of 
some  agricultural  operations  he  removed  a  large  flag,  which  opened 
the  passage  to  a  spacious  cavern,  in  which  were  found  the  crown  and 
collar,  together  with  some  ancient  bronze  weapons  and  several 
utensils  used  for  culinary  purposes.  The  discoverer  of  this  singular 
labyrinth  kept  it  concealed  from  the  knowledge  of  anyone  for  a  con- 
siderable length  of  time,  but  at  length  he  has  been  induced  to  show 
it  to  a  few  individuals  under  a  promise  of  secrecy  ;  and,  as  he  is  about 
to  leave  this  country  for  Australia,  he  intends  for  a  consideration  to 
lead  the  way  to  this  curious  subterranean  chamber,  evidently  the 
retreat  of  the  ancient  monarchs  who  reigned  in  the  locality. 

"  A  friend  of  mine,  who  has  been  in  the  cavern,  says  that  he  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  have  unveiled  to  his  astonished  view  the  intricacies 
of  this  hidden  apartment  and  many  singular  vestiges  of  a  defunct 
race.     It   was,   no  doubt,   at  once  a  fortalice  and  residence.     The 


Geologic  and  Prehistoric  Remains. 


hard-pressed  chieftain  and  his  followers  found  in  its  recesses  the  most 
perfect  security  and  concealment,  for  if  any  pursuers  had  the  temerity 
to  tread  the  tortuous  windings  of  the  entrance,  certain  destruction  was 
sure  to  reach  them  ere  they  arrived  at  the  apartments,  several  feet 
below  the  surface  of  what  appears  to  be  a  limestone  crag. 

"  I  forgot  to  say  that  among  other  relics  of  bygone  days  are  ten 
elaborately  ornamented  slabs,  of  an  octagonal  form,  and  bearing  long 
inscriptions  in  the  Ogham  character.  There  are  few  who  will  be  able 
to  unravel  the  story  which  these  venerable  records  display  to  the  eyes 
of  the  curious.  No  doubt  they  will  yet  form  the  subject  of  study  and 
research  to  the  antiquary  and  the  learned.  The  discovery  of  this 
wonderful  cavern  throws  much  light  on  the  legends  of  Brien 
O'Donoghoe,  and  to  this  means  of  retreat  from  his  enemies  is  no 
doubt  due  the  story  of  his  compact  with  the  Evil  One,  from  the  con- 
sequences of  which  the  Abbot  St.  Kieran  is  said  to  have  released 
him.  I  intend  to  explore  this  retreat  of  the  ancient  chieftains  of  this 
neighbourhood  on  an  early  day,  and  to  supply  you  with  a  description 
in  detail." 


Early  Historic  Remains. 


EARLY  HISTORIC  REMAINS. 


Ancient  Timber  Foundations,  Etc. 

[1795,  Part  II.,  p.  1050.] 

SOME  workmen  lately  (Nov,  5),  in  digging  the  foundation  for  a 
bridge  erecting  over  the  Severn  at  Buildwas,  Shropshire,  dis- 
covered a  large  piece  of  oak  timber  at  a  considerable  depth  below  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  near  to  it  a  very  curious  brass  sword.  From 
various  circumstances,  this  weapon  is  supposed  to  be  of  Carthaginian 
origin.  These  antiquities,  we  understand,  are  now  in  the  possession 
of  W.  M.  Moseley,  Esq.,  of  Glassampton,  County  Worcester. 

[181 1,  Fai-t  IL,  p.  476.] 

A  large  oak  tree,  nearly  30  feet  long,  and  upwards  of  12  in  circum- 
ference, has  recently  been  discovered  in  the  Clyde,  about  half  a  mile 
below  Thankertonbridge,  on  the  property  of  the  Earl  of  Hyndford. 
It  seems  to  be  pretty  solid ;  but,  as  it  lies  three  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  water,  and  mosdy  covered  with  the  channel  of  the  river,  any 
attempts  that  have  been  made  to  remove  it  have  proved  ineffectual. 
There  is  a  tale  so  old  as  to  be  nearly  traditionary,  that  some  very 
large  oak  trees  formerly  grew  at  Lamington,  the  purchaser  of  which 
endeavoured  to  float  them  down  the  river,  but,  owing  to  the  gravity 
of  oak  timber  being  nearly  equal  to  water,  some  of  them  were  lost. 
It  is  well  known,  that  the  vast  extent  of  wood  from  which  Selkirkshire 
still  retains  the  name  of  the  Forest,  stretched  westward  into  this 
county ;  and  some  of  the  fruitful  and  well-sheltered  dells  of  Coulter, 
or  Lamington,  may  justly  claim  the  merit  of  having  fostered  this 
noble  proof  of  the  ancient  grandeur  of  Scottish  timber. 

[1837,  Fart  II., p.  0,09.] 

The  labourers  who  are  excavating  the  common  sewer  in  High 
Street,  St.  Giles,  Westminster,  lately  discovered  just  opposite  the 
church  two  elm  trees,  in  a  high  state  of  preservation,  at  a  depth  of 


40  Early  Historic  Remains. 

about  15  feet  under  the  surface  of  the  ground,  lying  completely  across 
the  part  undergoing  excavation,  and  being  parallel  to  each  other, 
though  at  a  distance  of  several  yards.  They  were  obliged  to  be 
sawn  through,  and  the  pieces  which  were  removed  to  the  surface  were 
each  about  nine  feet  long,  and  five  in  circumference.  These  trees 
are  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  a  forest  which  once  covered  this 
and  the  surrounding  district.  On  examination,  the  exhumed  timber 
was  found  to  be  as  sound  as  if  it  had  been  felled  only  a  few  months. 
The  superincumbent  strata  were  composed  of  common  rubble,  clay, 
and  sand,  the  whole  of  which  were  remarkably  dry  to  the  above 
depth. 

[1839,  Fart  I/.,  p.  410.] 

The  capacious  bonding-pond,  which  is  now  being  excavated  at 
South  Stockton,  has  led  to  the  discovery  of  an  extensive  subterranean 
forest.  The  timber  is  chiefly  oak.  A  yew  tree,  of  considerable  size, 
has  been  found,  the  wood  of  which  is  sound  and  good,  and  fit  for  the 
turner's  lathe.  Many  of  the  oaks  are  of  large  dimensions,  and  it  is 
expected  some  of  them  will  be  suitable  for  the  purpose  of  building. 
Whilst  examining  this  forest,  Dr.  Young,  of  Whitby,  with  some 
friends,  discovered  one  of  the  oaks  to  have  been  cut  in  two,  which 
had  evidently  been  done  previous  to  its  being  covered  by  the  earth. 
He  supposes  the  forest  may  have  been  cut  down  by  the  Roman 
soldiers,  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of  laying  timber  on  the  low  swampy 
grounds,  for  the  purpose  of  making  roads.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is 
certain  the  hand  of  man  has  been  exerted  on  the  timber,  and  it  may 
form  a  fertile  subject  for  the  lover  of  ancient  history  and  the  geologist 
to  speculate  on. 

[1S20,  Pari  II.,  pp.  350,  351.] 

In  cutting  and  carrying  away  a  part  of  Castlefield,  near  Manchester, 
to  make  the  ground  level  near  a  new  warehouse,  lately  erected  on 
the  banks  of  the  canal,  a  very  ancient  well  was  discovered  about  four 
yards  below  the  level  of  the  field,  which  has  been  cut  down  for  the 
above  purpose.  The  well  was  square,  and  was  formed  of  four  up- 
right posts,  driven  at  the  four  angles  into  the  bed  of  clay,  and  closed 
in  by  other  logs  of  wood,  placed,  one  upon  another,  in  the  simplest 
manner,  on  the  outside,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  chest,  which  was 
floored  with  the  same  rude  materials.  The  logs  were  rudely  hewn ; 
they  had  evidently  never  been  sawn,  either  on  the  sides  or  ends  ; 
were  about  five  or  six  inches  square,  and  together  formed  a  hollow 
cube  of  four  feet.  The  upper  logs  were  level  with  the  top  surface  of 
a  bed  of  clay,  by  which  the  well  was  surrounded,  and  into  which  the 
timber  had  been  inserted.  The  wood  when  first  discovered  had  little 
more  consistency  than  paste,  but  on  its  exposure  to  the  air  became 
much  harder,  and  more  wood  like ;  it  was  perfectly  black,  and  so 


Ancient   Timber  Foundations,  Etc.  41 

much  of  a  coal-like  appearance  as  to  favour  the  theory  of  such 
naturalists  as  suppose  that  pit-coal  was  originally  a  vegetable  sub- 
stance. At  the  bottom  of  the  well  a  quantity  of  large  stones,  such  as 
in  this  neighbourhood  are  called  bowlers,  were  found ;  they  were 
black  and  dirty,  as  though  they  had  been  taken  from  a  sewer.  The 
clay  which  adhered  to  the  timber  had  also  changed  its  colour  by  its 
proximity,  from  the  rusty  iron  tinge  of  the  native  clay,  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  inferior  potters'  clay  found  in  Dorsetshire.  Over  the 
well,  unbroken,  were  various  strata  of  sand  and  gravel,  which,  as  the 
bank  was  broken  down,  gave  proof  that,  except  for  about  a  yard  and 
a  half  below  the  surface  of  the  field,  it  had  never  been  exposed  to 
daylight  since  the  strata  was  laid  by  the  disposal  of  a  flood.  The 
part  which  the  section  discovered  to  have  been  acted  upon  by  human 
industry,  was  very  visible  to  the  depth  of  about  a  yard ;  and  a  few 
yards  to  the  west  of  the  part  beneath  which  the  well  was  discovered, 
the  remains  of  a  part  of  the  foundation  of  the  ancient  fortification 
built  by  the  Romans  afforded  evidence  by  contrast  of  colours,  that 
the  materials  immediately  above  the  well  were  already  there,  and  that 
the  well  was  lost — buried  by  the  wreck  of  some  great  flood — before 
the  Romans  began  to  dig  the  foundations  which  are  to  this  day  so 
great  an  object  of  curiosity  to  antiquaries.  In  all  human  probabiUty 
the  well  was  the  work  of  the  ancient  Britons  (before  they  knew  how 
to  cut  stone),  so  as  to  serve  for  the  purpose  of  a  well,  and  before  saws 
were  in  their  possession ;  and  as  the  spring  from  which  that  well  had 
been  supplied  turned  out  in  another  place,  in  the  same  bank,  after  the 
floods,  the  old  well  was  soon  forgotten.  In  all  human  probability  the 
work  now  discovered  is  upwards  of  2,000  years  old,  for  it  is  1,741 
years  since  the  Romans  settled  here  ;  and  the  section  of  the  founda- 
tion which  intersects  the  line  of  strata  above  the  well  is  proof  that 
they  were  not  aware  of  its  existence. 

[1S43,  Part  I.,  pp.  303,  304.] 

Last  autumn  a  peasant  named  Thomas  Power,  who  holds  a  few 
acres  of  ground  in  the  townland  of  Kilbarry,  immediately  outside  the 
deer-park  wall  of  Castlecor,  dreamed  that  there  was  a  large  quantity 
of  gold  and  other  treasure  buried  deep  beneath  the  ruins  of  an  old 
Danish  fort,  which  lies  on  the  ground.  After  he  awoke,  he  lay 
musing  for  some  time,  until  sleep  overcame  him  again,  when  the  same 
dream  occurred  to  him  a  second  time,  as  also  a  third  time,  on  the 
same  night.  The  last  time  he  awoke  the  day  dawned  ;  he  got  up  and 
called  one  of  his  sons,  to  whom  he  communicated  his  dreams  ;  with 
eagerness  they  proceeded  to  the  spot  to  which  the  dreams  had 
accurately  directed  them  ;  they  surveyed  the  place  with  deep  anxiety 
for  some  time,  and  at  length  perceived  a  scarcely  perceptible  hollow 
in  the  ground,  as  if  a  drain  had  once  been  there  which  time  had  filled 
up.      The  fort  is  situated  on  the  top  of  a  small  glen,  through  which, 


42  Early  Historic  Remains. 

or  along  which,  a  small  stream  runs.  This  stream  divides  the  lands 
of  Kilbarry  from  Drummin.  The  drain  from  the  first  went  towards 
the  rivulet,  like  the  tail-race  of  a  mill,  and  here  it  was  they  com- 
menced operations.  They  first  discovered  a  bed  of  rich  manure, 
which  they  were  raising  and  drawing  away  for  a  fortnight ;  they  took 
out  300  horse-loads,  making  an  opening  towards  the  fort  30  feet  in 
length,  1 1  feet  deep,  and  wide  enough  for  a  horse  and  cart  to  turn  in. 
Their  work  was  at  length  impeded  by  a  large  piece  of  timber,  from 
which  they  cleared  the  manure  with  great  labour,  and  discovered  a 
perfect  tank,  12  feet  square  and  3  feet  deep,  made  of  black  oak,  each 
plank  4  inches  thick,  it  resting  upon  four  pillars  or  legs,  2  feet  high 
and  I  foot  square.  Into  the  tank  was  a  shoot,  as  if  to  convey  water, 
made  of  the  same  timber,  one  foot  wide  at  the  mouth,  the  whole  in 
almost  perfect  preservation.  How  it  was  joined  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained, as  the  labourers  took  it  asunder  when  they  found  it ;  but  there 
was  no  appearance  of  nails  ;  the  joints  appeared  decayed.  The  tank 
was  buried  1 1  feet  under  the  ground. 

[1 81 9,  Part  II.,  pp.  541,  542.] 

Some  time  ago,  in  digging  to  make  gas  tanks  at  the  Low  Lights, 
near  North  Shields,  in  a  place  called  Salt  Marsh,  in  Pow  Dean,  at 
the  distance  of  1 2  feet  6  inches  from  the  surface,  the  workmen  came 
to  a  framing  of  large  oak  beams,  black  as  ebony,  pinned  together  with 
wooden  pins  or  tree-nails :  the  whole  resembling  a  wharf  or  pier, 
whither  ships  drawing  9  or  10  feet  water  had  come.  Mussel-shells 
lay  under  an  artificial  spread  or  coating  of  fine  clay,  as  in  the  bed  of  a 
river.  Julius  Agricola,  about  the  eighty-third  year  of  the  Christian  era, 
had  his  fleet  in  the  Tyne  ;  but  tradition  says  he  moored  it  in  the 
brook  Don,  near  where  Jarrow  Church  now  stands  ;  he  may  have 
also  moored  some  of  them  in  this  place  (opposite  to  the  Roman 
station,  near  South  Shields),  as  it  has  been  a  secure  estuary  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Pow  Bourne,  guarded  from  the  sea  by  a  peninsula  ot 
clay  and  sandy  land,  now  called  the  Prior's  Point,  whereon  Clifford's 
Fort  was  built  in  1672.  Large  oak  trees  were  also  found,  hollowed 
out  as  if  to  convey  water.  Had  there  been  found  any  scoriae,  or 
calcined  stones,  conjecture  might  have  pointed  to  salt-works  having 
been  here ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  few  stones  were  found,  only  sandy 
black  mud  12  or  13  feet  deep,  and  one  freestone,  squared  out  in  the 
middle  to  hold  the  foot  of  a  wooden  pillar  :  hammer-marks  were 
visible  in  the  sides  of  the  square  hole.  On  the  side  of  the  peninsula 
above  referred  to,  next  to  the  estuary,  salt-pans  were  working  in  the 
time  of  the  Priory  at  Tynemouth,  probably  as  early  as  the  year  800, 
and  so  to  the  dissolution  in  1539  ;  and  according  to  Brand,  and  other 
records  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  the  Pow  Pans 
were  making  salt  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  ;  and  in  1634,  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  Trinity-House,  Newcastle,  bought  land  near  Tolland's, 


0)1  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ancient  Britons.  43 

Delaval's  and  Selby's  Pans,  to  erect  their  Low  Lights  upon.  Much 
of  the  oak  moulders  away  on  being  exposed  to  the  open  air ;  but 
some  beams  and  planks  are  preserved,  out  of  which  it  is  intended  to 
make  chairs,  etc.  The  Danes  often  moored  fleets  in  the  Tyne, 
during  their  incursions,  in  the  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries. 

On  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ancient  Britons. 

[1849,  Part  I.,  pp.  592-S97-] 

A  passage  is  extant  in  Xiphilinus  which,  if  literally  taken,  in- 
dubitably implies  that  the  ancient  Britons  fitted  out  powerful  naval 
armaments  in  the  reigns  of  Augustus  and  Caligula ;  but  so  many 
other  passages  from  ancient  authors  are  apparently  repugnant  to  this, 
or  at  least  are  reputed  to  be  so,  that  an  examination  of  what  is  said 
respecting  the  vessels  of  the  Britons  may  not  be  without  interest. 
We  shall  find  that  generally  they  by  no  means  make  the  statement  of 
Xiphilinus  impossible  or  even  improbable,  while  a  passage  in  a  classic 
author  confirms  his  words  to  a  remarkable  degree.  Extracts  may 
therefore  follow  from  ancient  authors,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  them 
that  which  has  been  alluded  to  from  Xiphilinus,  accompanied  by  its 
presumed  corroboration. 

The  ancient  British  chronicles,  could  we  rely  on  their  authority, 
would  at  once  obviate  the  necessity  of  the  present  inquiries,  as  they 
in  several  instances  speak  of  the  fleets  of  the  Britons  :  these  historical 
documents  are,  however,  far  too  apocryphal  in  their  earlier  parts  to  be 
of  any  use.  It  is  necessary  therefore  to  set  aside  their  testimony 
altogether  as  regards  our  present  subject. 

Whoever  has  referred  to  Lucan  and  Pliny  will  see  that  the  Britons 
are  described  in  those  authors  as  possessing  solely  barks  covered  with 
bullocks'  hides  in  which  they  navigated  the  ocean.  Lucan's  mention 
is  lib.  iv.  130  : 

"  Utque  habuit  ripas  Sicoris  camposque  reliquit 
Primum  cana  salix  madefacto  vimine  parvam 
Texitur  in  puppim,  csesoque  inducta  juvenco 
Vectoris  patiens  tumidum  superenatat  aninem. 
Sic  Venetus  stagnante  Pado,  fusoque  Britannus 
Navigat  oceano  :  sic  quum  tenet  omnia  Nilus 
Conseritur  bibula  Memphitis  cymba  papyro." 

Of  this  the  following  may  be  given  as  the  version  :  "  When  the 
river  Sicoris  began  to  subside,  and  to  be  contained  within  its  banks  " 
(by  Caesar's  orders,  see  his  Commentaries,  Civil  Wars,  i.  54),  "  first  the 
hoary  osier  with  its  moistened  twigs  is  woven  into  a  small  ship  ;  and 
then  covered  with  the  hide  of  a  slain  bullock  it  supports  its  navigator 
upon  the  swollen  stream.  Thus  the  Venetian  navigates  the  stagnant 
Po,  and  the  Briton  the  wide-spread  ocean ;  and  thus,  when  the  Nile 
overflows,  the  Memphian  boat  is  interwoven  of  the  bibulous  papyrus." 

In    Pliny's  Historia  Naturalis  there  are  several   passages   to   the 


44  Early  Historic  Re7naiiis. 

purpose.  One  in  book  iv.  30  (16).  "Timseus  historicus  a  Britannia 
introrsus  sex  dierum  navigatione  abesse  dicit  insulam  Mictim  in  qua 
candidum  plumbum  proveniat ;  ad  cam  Britannos  vitilibus  navigiis 
corio  circumsutis  navigare  ;"  i.e.^  "Timseus  the  historian  says  that  the 
island  of  Mictis,  where  tin  is  found,  is  within  six  days'  sail  from 
Britain  ;  and  that  the  Britons  navigate  to  it  in  vessels  of  wicker-work 
covered  with  leather."  Another,  vii.  57.  "  Plumbum  ex  Cassiteride 
insula  primus  apportavit  Midacritus.  Etiam  nunc  in  Britannico 
oceano  vitiles  (naves)  corio  circumsutse  fiunt ;"  i.e.,  "  Midacritus  was 
the  first  who  brought  tin  from  the  island  of  Cassiteris.  Even  now 
vessels  of  wicker-work  are  to  be  found  in  the  British  ocean." 
Further,  in  book  xxxiv.  47  (16)  he  says,  "Sequitur  natura  plumbi, 
cujus  duo  genera,  nigrum  atque  candidum.  Pretiosissimum  can- 
didum a  Graecis  appellatum  cassiteron,  fabuloseque  narratum  in 
insulas  Atlantici  maris  peti,  vitilibusque  navigiis  circumsutis  corio 
advehi.  Nunc  certum  est  in  Lusitania  gigni,  et  in  Gallaecia,  summa 
tellure  arenosa  et  coloris  nigri.  Pondere  tantum  ea  deprehenditur. 
Interveniunt  et  minuti  calculi,  maxime  torrentibus  siccatis.  Lavant 
eas  arenas  metallici,  et  quod  subsedit  coquunt  in  fornacibus ;" /.^., 
*'  The  class  of  metals  of  the  nature  of  lead  comes  next ;  of  this  there 
are  two  sorts,  the  black  and  white.  The  white  is  the  most  valuable, 
called  by  the  Greeks  '  cassiteron,'  tin,  and  is  fabulously  narrated  to 
be  sought  in  the  islands  of  the  Atlantic  sea,  and  brought  in  vessels  of 
wicker-work  sewed  round  with  leather.  Now  it  is  certain  that  it  is 
produced  in  Lusitania  (Portugal)  and  in  Gallaecia  {i.e.,  Gallaecia, 
Gallicia  in  Spain  and  the  north  of  Portugal),  being  found  there  in  a 
sandy  soil  on  the  top  of  the  earth  and  distinguishable  from  it  solely 
by  weight.  Small  pebbles  of  it  are  also  found,  principally  in  the 
dried-up  beds  of  torrents.  The  workmen  wash  those  sands,  and  what 
subsides  they  roast  in  furnaces."  In  book  xxiv.  40,  he  speaks  of 
"  sutiles  naves,"  or  ships  sewed  together ;  but  at  that  place  the  method 
of  fastening  the  planks  by  sewing  them  together  with  thongs,  holes 
being  bored  through  them  for  the  purpose,  is  solely  to  be  under- 
stood ;  a  contrivance  we  find  practised  with  the  larger  canoes  in  the 
South  Seas,  Therefore  this  passage  does  not  apply  to  our  present 
purpose. 

To  Pliny  succeeds  Solinus,  an  author  supposed  to  have  lived  about 
A.D.  225,  in  the  reign  of  Alexander  Severus,  He  informs  us,  c,  22, 
*'  Mare  quod  Hiberniam  et  Britanniam  interluit  undosum  in- 
quietumque  toto  in  anno,  non  nisi  pauculis  diebus  est  navigabile. 
Navigant  autem  vimineis  alveis  quos  circumdant  ambitione  tergorum 
bubalorum."  That  is,  "The  sea  between  Ireland  and  Britain  is 
generally  swelling  with  waves,  and  untranquil  the  whole  year,  and 
only  navigable  for  a  few  days.  They  navigate  (it)  in  vessels  made  of 
wicker-work,  which  they  surround  with  a  covering  of  bullocks'  hides." 

Further,  Festus  Avianus,  who  lived  about  A.D.  400,  in  his  poem 


On  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ancient  Britons.    45 

the  Ora  Maritima,  describing  the  inhabitants  of  the  CEstrymenides — • 
islands  which  he  evidently  treats  of  as  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Britain,  specifying  that  they  were  "metallo  divites  stanni  atque 
plumbi,"  i.e.,  rich  in  the  metals  of  tin  and  lead — says  of  their  shipping  : 

"Notisque  cymbis  turbidum  late  fretum 
Et  beiluosi  gurgitem  oceani  secant. 
Non  hi  carinas  quippe  pinu  texere 
Acereve  norunt,  non  abiete  ut  usus  est 
Curvant  faselos  ;  sed  rei  ad  miraculum 
Navigia  junctis  semper  aptant  pellibus 
Corioque  vastum  saepe  percurrunt  salum." 

That  is,  "  In  their  boats,  as  is  well  known,  they  navigate  both  the 
stormy  narrow  seas,  and  the  ocean  itself,  full  of  sea  monsters.  For 
they  have  not  been  accustomed  to  build  ships  either  of  the  fir-tree  or 
maple;  or  to  plank  vessels  with  oak,  as  is  usually  done  at  other 
places  ;  but  it  may  be  noted,  for  the  wonder  of  the  thing,  that  they 
always  cover  their  barks  with  hides  joined  together  ;  and  thus  using 
this  covering  of  leather  they  often  traverse  the  broad  seas." 

A  passage  from  Julius  Csesar's  Commentaries,  Civil  Wars,  i.  54, 
should  not  be  overlooked.  "Quiim  in  his  angustiis  res  esset;  atque 
omnes  viae  ab  Afranianis  militibus  equitibusque  obsiderentur ;  nee 
pontes  perfici  possent ;  imperat  militibus  Caesar  ut  naves  perficiant, 
cujus  generis  eum  superioribus  annis  usus  Britanni?e  docuerat.  Carinae 
primum  et  statumina  ex  levi  materia  fiebant ;  reliquum  corpus  navium 
viminibus  contextum  coriis  integebatur.  Has  perfectas  carris  junctis 
devehit  noctu  millia  passuum  a  castris  xxii.,  militesque  his  navibus 
flumen  transportat ;  continentemque  ripte  coUem  improvise  occupat. 
Hunc  celeriter  priusquam  ab  adversariis  sentiatur  communit.  Hue 
legionem  postea  transducit ;  atque  ex  utraque  parte  pontem  insti- 
tutura  perficitbiduo."  That  is,  "There  being  these  difficulties,  and 
all  the  roads  being  occupied  by  the  soldiers  of  Afranius,  horse  and 
foot ;  and  as  there  was  no  possibility  of  constructing  bridges  ;  Csesar 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  make  ships  of  the  same  kind  as  he  had  seen 
used  in  former  years  in  Britain.  The  keels  and  framework  were  first 
made  of  light  materials;  the  rest  of  the  vessels,  being  woven  with  twigs, 
was  covered  with  skins.  These  having  transported  by  night  on  cars 
joined  together  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles,  he  passed  a  party  of 
soldiers  over  the  river  Sicoris"  (see  before  the  passage  from  Lucan), 
"and  unexpectedly  occupied  a  hill  close  to  the  river.  This  he  quickly 
fortified  before  his  adversaries  perceived  it.  Here  he  after  this  con- 
veyed across  a  legion,  and  beginning  a  bridge  from  both  banks  finished 
it  in  three  days." 

St.  Isidore  of  Seville,  who  wrote  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century,  in  his  work  De  Originibus,  xix.  i.,  has  a  passage  relating  to 
our  subject.  He  says  :  "  Carabus  parva  scapha  ex  vimine  facta  quce 
contexta  crudo  corio  genus  navigii  prsbet.     Papias  (prodit  autem) ; 


46  Early  Historic  Remains. 

carabus  navicula  discurrens  in  Pado,  id  est  linter.  Est  autem  ex 
vimine  et  corio."  That  is,  "The  vessel  called  a  carabus  is  a  small 
boat  made  of  wicker-work,  which,  being  covered  with  a  raw  hide, 
forms  a  species  of  bark.  According  to  Papias,  the  carabus  is  a  little 
boat  or  skiff  used  on  the  Po,  made  also  of  wicker-work  and  leather." 

What  we  otherwise  chiefly  know  of  this  species  of  vessel  is  as  fol- 
lows:— Sidonius  Apollinaris,  \Yho  lived  in  the  fifth  century,  acquaints  us 
that  they  were  used  to  cross  the  seas  by  the  Saxon  pirates  of  his  day,  and 
several  ancient  chronicles  mention  three  Irish  saints  who  in  the  year 
891  crossed  over  in  a  boat  constructed  of  wicker-work,  and  covered 
with  hides,  from  Ireland  to  Cornwall  in  seven  days  ;  intending  to  go 
from  thence  to  Rome,  and  afterwards  to  Jerusalem. 

All  these  vessels  of  wicker-work  and  hides  hitherto  mentioned, 
except  those  referred  to  by  St.  Isidore  and  his  authority,  it  is  evident 
were  not  quite  boats  of  the  smallest  size.  They  were  vessels  which 
navigated  the  ocean  ;  were  sometimes  used  by  pirates  in  their  preda- 
tory expeditions  ;  and  are  called  "  navigia,"  i.e.  ships,  by  one  or  two 
writers.  Ccesar,  when  he  builds  vessels  of  this  class,  is  obliged  to 
join  two  cars  together  in  order  to  transport  them  from  place  to  place. 
In  short,  in  respect  to  size,  they  must  have  been  of  the  dimensions  of 
the  larger  boats  ;  and  the  skiff  or  canoe  of  wicker-work,  and  covered 
with  a  hide,  used  for  fishing  on  the  rivers,  which  would  seem 
originally  to  have  suggested  this  mode  of  construction,  is  not  brought 
to  our  notice  by  ancient  writers  except  as  before  specified.  This 
smaller  vessel,  however,  is  still  in  use  on  the  rivers  in  the  west  of 
England,  and  by  its  name  of  "  coracle  "  is  well  known. 

Though  it  seems  the  use  of  wicker-work  and  hide-covered  vessels 
was  not  peculiar  to  Britain  (see  the  passage  before  quoted  from  the 
poet  Lucan),*  yet,  as  connected  with  Britain,  they  appear  to  have 
attracted  great  notice  in  times  of  antiquity,  principally,  no  doubt, 
from  their  navigating  so  tempestuous  an  ocean  with  them.  How- 
ever, the  possession  of  these  vessels  is  not  necessarily  a  proof  that 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  country  used  no  other.  Some  further 
inquiry  on  the  subject  may  be  therefore  requisite. 

One  principal  testimony  that  the  Britons  did  not  possess  shipping 

*  Herodotus  also  mentions  towards  the  end  of  his  first  book  a  species  of  circular 
vessels  or  floats,  which  he  describes  as  resembling  rounded,  and  of  course  to  a 
certain  degree  concaved,  shields,  as  we  find  by  the  Phigalian  marbles  in  the  British 
Museum  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks  were.  These  were  built  by  the  shepherds  of 
Armenia,  who  cut  down  willows  to  supply  the  materials  of  their  construction,  and 
covered  them  with  skins.  Their  lading  consisted  of  straw,  casks  of  palm  wine,  etc., 
with  which  they  descended  with  the  stream  of  the  Euphrates  to  Babylon.  He 
informs  us  that  they  were  of  a  larger  and  smaller  size,  specifying  that  some  of  the 
former  were  able  to  carry  a  burden  of  5,000  talents,  or,  as  nearly  as  may  be 
estimated,  about  125  tons.  On  their  arrival  at  Babylon,  and  their  cargo  being 
disposed  of,  they  were  broken  up,  their  wood- work  sold,  and  the  skins  re-conveyed 
to  Armenia  on  the  backs  of  asse?,  brought  down  in  the  floats  for  that  purpose. 


Oil  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ajicient  Britons.     47 

is  found  in  the  panegyrical  writers,  those  well-known  eulogists  in  the 
later  times  of  the  Roman  empire,  who  addressed  complimentary 
orations  to  the  emperors  for  various  purposes  ;  which  flowery  effusions 
are  in  many  cases  come  down  to  us,  and  indeed  very  frequently 
afford  materials  for  the  historian.  In  Eumenius,  who  addressed  a 
panegyrical  oration  to  Constantius  Chlorus,  a.d.  296,  we  find  the 
following  passage,  the  time  referred  to  being  the  earlier  part  of  the 
same  year,  when  Constantius  sailed  with  an  expedition  against 
Alectus : — "Sed  enim  ilia  setate"  (alluding  to  Julius  Ctesar's  ex- 
peditions to  this  country)  "  nee  Britannia  uUis  erat  ad  navale  bellum 
armata  navigiis,  et  Romana  res  inde  jam  a  Punicis  Asiaticisque  bellis, 
etiam  recenti  exercitata  piratico  et  propiore  Mithridatico  non  magis 
terrestri  quam  navali  usu  vigebat.  Ad  hoc  natio  etiam  tunc  rudis  et 
solis  Britanni  Pictis  modo  et  Hibernis  assueta  hostibus,  adhuc 
seminudi  facile  Romanis  armis  signisque  cesserunt ;  prope  ut  hoc 
uno  Csesar  gloriari  in  ilia  expeditione  debuerit  quod  navigasset 
oceanum,"  i.e.,  "  But  at  that  time  Britain  was  not  provided  with  any 
ships  for  a  naval  war,  and  the  Romans  were  no  less  prepared  for  a 
war  by  sea  than  for  one  by  land,  from  the  Punic  and  Asiatic  wars  and 
the  recent  piratical  and  Mithridatic  wars  ;  and  thus  this  nation,  so 
uncivilized,  and  only  used  to  Pictish  and  Irish  foes,  easily  yielded  to 
the  Roman  arms  and  standards ;  so  that  Ccesar  could  only  in  reality 
boast  that  he  had  conquered  the  ocean."  It  may,  however,  be 
contended  in  answer  to  this  passage  that  it  is  of  no  weight,  being 
obviously  not  founded  on  any  historical  information  as  to  the  state  of 
Britain  in  Caesar's  time.  The  Picts  had  not  at  that  time  located 
themselves  in  Caledonia,  not  having  emigrated  to  this  country  till 
shortly  before  the  reign  of  Severus,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the 
best  writers ;  nor  is  there  authority  for  the  wars  of  the  early  British 
with  the  Irish.  The  passage  of  Eumenius  is  therefore  merely  an 
oratorical  flourish. 

Another  argument  that  the  Britons  had  no  ships  may  be  deduced 
from  the  Welsh  Triads,  which,  mentioning  the  three  British  leaders 
who  were  famous  for  their  fleets,  specify  not  persons  who  lived  in 
early  times — not  Cassibelan,  Timancius,  or  Cunobeline— but  Geraint, 
March,  and  Gwenwynnyn,  the  two  first  of  which  lived  in  the  fifth 
century ;  the  third  also  being  in  no  early  era.  This  again  is  indefinite 
evidence;  for  the  Triads,  written  according  to  some  about  a.d.  700, 
do  not  often,  or  rather  so  to  say,  do  not  always  refer  to  times  more 
ancient  than  the  Roman  conquest ;  and  if  no  use  is  made  of  the 
apocryphal  testimony  of  the  British  chronicles  in  favour  that  Brennus, 
a  British  king,  about  b.c.  400,  fitted  out  a  fleet,  and  that  Gurguntius, 
another  British  king,  about  B.C.  375,  fitted  out  a  naval  armament 
against  Denmark  to  enforce  tribute,  and  that  Cassibelan,  in  the  time 
of  Caesar,  had  a  fleet,  so  ought  not  adverse  inferences  from  the 
Triads  to  be  admitted. 


48  Early  Historic  Remains. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  to  the  arguments  for  our  purpose,  i.e.,  that 
the  ancient  Britons  had  ships,  there  seems  a  higher  degree  of 
probabiUty  attached. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  most  generally  believed  that  the  Phoenicians 
and  Greeks  traded  to  the  island  with  their  shipping ;  at  any  rate,  it  is 
certain  from  Strabo  that  there  was  a  great  resort  of  shipping  hither  in 
his  time  from  Gaulish  ports.  It  is  therefore  extremely  probable  that 
in  length  of  time,  from  imitation,  the  Britons  themselves  may  have 
attempted  the  construction  of  ships.  If  they  did  not,  they  must 
have  been  inferior  in  capacity  to  other  nations  under  the  same 
circumstances,  which  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose. 

Again,  in  Caesar's  Commentaries  the  Veneti,  in  their  war  against 
the  Romans,  are  described  as  almost  solely  assisted  by  the  maritime 
states  of  Gaul  and  by  the  Britons.  (Gaulish  Wars,  book  iii.  9.) 
The  Osismii,  Lexovii,  Nannetes,  Ambiliati,  Morini,  Diablintes,  and 
Menapii  of  Gaul,  as  well  as  the  Britons,  came  to  their  assistance.  As 
the  above  states  of  Gaul,  with  the  exception  of  the  Diablintes,  who 
were  their  near  neighbours  by  land  to  the  north-east,  v/ere  all  maritime 
states,  it  is  almost  unquestionable  that  as  well  as  with  men  they  assisted 
their  countrymen  the  Veneti  with  ships,  contributing  to  form  that 
powerful  armament  which  offered  so  great  an  opposition  to  the  Roman 
admiral  Publius  Crassus.  And  as  the  Veneti  received  assistance  from 
Britain,  it  is  most  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  same  assistance  was 
rendered  not  with  men  only  but  with  ships.  The  presumption  is  here 
in  our  favour,  and  this  is  a  fact  that  we  may  almost,  though  not  with 
entire  certainty,  assume. 

Those  who  are  inclined  to  assume  the  affirmative  will  bear  in  mind 
that  the  ships  of  the  Veneti  were  of  some  considerable  size,  as  is 
shown  in  the  note  below,  for  they  are  described  by  Cassar  as  over- 
topping with  their  towers  the  Roman  ships,  to  which  superiority  of 
size  the  great  difficulty  of  the  Romans  in  defeating  the  fleet  of  the 
Veneti  is  ascribed  (book  iii.  13*).  If  this  passage  therefore  proves 
the  Britons  had  ships,  as  many  think,  it  appears  to  show  that  those 
ships  must  have  been  sea-going  ships  and  of  large  dimensions  for 
ancient  times. 

As,  however,  it  so  happens  that  we  are  not  entirely  able  to  obviate 
counter  statements  and  objections  on  this  subject,  so  we  have  rather 
as  qualifications  to  the  above  that  Caesar,  a  year  or  two  after  the  said 
naval  war  with  the  Veneti,  when  he  intends  to  invade  Britain,  arms  a 
single  galley  to  explore  the  British  coast  to  ascertain  the  best  place 
for  landing  (book  iv.  21).  This  vessel  Volusenus  commands,  and  it 
is  out  five  days,  and  nothing  is  said  of  its  meeting  any  British  ships  at 

*  I.e.,  admitting  the  Roman  galleys  to  have  been  about  25  or  30  tons  burden, 
and  their  war  vessels  of  greater  size,  60  or  70.  Therefore  the  ships  of  the  Veneti, 
having  towers  higher  than  the  Roman  ships,  to  have  been  safe  as  sea-going  ships, 
which  they  were,  must  have  been  at  the  least  of  about  the  burden  of  150  tons. 


Oil  the  Naval  Power  of  the  Ancient  Brito7is.     49 

sea,  or  apprehending  to  do  so  ;  though  indeed  hostilities  do  not  appear 
at  this  time  to  have  commenced,  yet  in  the  doubtful  posture  of  affairs, 
had  the  Britons  possessed  a  naval  force,  it  is  hardly  probable  Cassar 
would  have  sent  a  single  vessel  only  on  the  mission. 

Again,  it  is  suggested  in  vol.  ii.  of  the  Archaeologia  Cambrensis,  a 
work  of  learning  and  research,  that  the  Guenethi,  or  inhabitants  of 
North  Wales,  formerly  called  Venedotia,  the  Ordovices  in  fact,  were 
from  similarity  of  name  of  the  same  origin  with  the  Veneti  before- 
mentioned  ;  that  a  friendly  commerce  existed  between  these  two 
branches  of  the  same  stock,  and  that  it  was  the  British  Guenethi  who 
assisted  their  brethren  the  Veneti  of  the  continent  in  their  naval  war. 
This  suggestion,  would  it  hold  good,  might  make  it  appear  probable 
that  this  one  part  of  Britain  possessed  shipping  and  the  rest  of  the 
island  none,  and  thus  might  be  a  species  of  compromise  of  the  present 
question.  The  due  degree  of  proof,  however,  seems  wanting  of  the 
fact  of  the  intercourse  between  the  Veneti  of  Gaul  and  the  Guenethi 
of  Britain,  and  of  the  capabilities  of  the  latter  of  fitting  out  naval 
armaments.  The  only  presumption  in  favour  is,  that  being  the 
supposed  colony  of  a  maritime  state,  they  might  possibly  have  been 
more  advanced  in  the  art  of  navigation  than  the  other  Britons. 
Against  this  we  may  place  that  the  southern  and  south-eastern  ports 
of  Britain  might  seem  prima  facie  to  have  been  more  in  the  thorough- 
fares of  the  commerce  of  Europe  than  those  of  the  Guenethi. 

We  now  come  to  the  passage  in  Boadicea's  speech,  as  in 
Xiphilinus,  which  first  gave  occasion  to  these  remarks.  The 
words  of  this  passage  before  referred  to  are  : — "  We  ourselves 
have  been  the  cause  of  all  these  evils;  who,  when  they  (the 
Romans)  were  yet  afar  off,  did  not  make  the  navigation  hither  too 
formidable  to  be  attempted,  as  we  did  to  Augustus,  and  to  Caius, 
called  Caligula."  Here  the  meaning  appears  so  plain,  that  in  the 
edition  of  Xiphilinus  by  Guglielmo  Blanci,  8vo.,  155 1,  which  was  one 
of  the  earliest  published,  p.  152,  he  translates  the  concluding  part  of 
the  passage  thus  : — "  Qui  non  contra  eos  quum  adhuc  longe  abessent 
ut  contra  Augustum  et  Caligulam  magna  et  metuenda  classe  con- 
tendimus  :"  thinking,  it  is  evident,  that  he  best  rendered  the  sense  of 
his  author  by  introducing  the  words  "  with  a  great  and  formidable 
fleet "  into  his  Latin  translation.  The  passage  should  have  stood  in 
book  Ixii.  of  Dion  Cassius  ;  but  much  of  that  author's  work  being  lost, 
including  this  part,  we  have  it  in  Xiphilinus,  his  abbreviator.  It  has 
then  Dion  Cassius's  authority  :  and  we  have  the  evidence  of  that 
historian,  given  indeed  as  part  of  a  speech,  which  it  must  be  allowed 
somewhat  weakens  the  direct  testimony  which  would  have  otherwise 
been  afforded  by  the  words  used. 

_  Are  we  then  warranted  by  history  to  repute  that  the  Britons  per- 
sisted ever  in  the  use  of  their  small  vessels,  formed  of  wicker-work, 
and  covered  with  hides,  and  made  no  attempts  to  imitate  the  con- 

4 


50  Early  Historic  Remains. 

struction  of  ships  of  more  substantial  materials,  either  of  the 
Phoenicians,  Greeks,  Gauls,  or  Romans,  or  do  we  consider  that  they 
did? 

On  the  whole  the  most  credible  supposition  seems  to  be  that  the 
assertions  of  Dion  and  Xiphilinus  are  correct,  that  the  ancient  Britons 
had  not  only  ships,  but  on  occasion  fitted  out  powerful  fleets.  Their 
ingenuity  in  constructing  smaller  vessels  of  wicker-work  is,  in  fact, 
not  really  an  argument  to  the  contrary,  but  rather  otherwise ;  though 
from  the  loss  or  mutilation  of  so  much  of  ancient  history  their  naval 
efforts  are  not  recorded.  It  may  easily  have  been  that  the  Romans 
on  their  conquest  prohibited  the  Britons  from  shipbuilding,  desirous 
in  so  distant  a  province  to  keep  the  whole  naval  power  in  their  own 
hands.  Thus,  the  Britons  ceasing  to  build  ships  under  the  Romans, 
and  being  chiefly  known  for  their  wicker-work  vessels,  the  idea  may 
have  originated  that  they  never  had  any  other. 

According  to  Propertius,  the  Britons  had  not  only  a  fleet  fitted  out 
for  their  defence,  but  matters  actually  proceeded  to  several  naval  con- 
tests.    In  his  Elegies,  ii,  27,  he  has  this  passage  : 

"  Seu  pedibus  Parthos  sequimur,  seu  classe  Britannos  ;" 

i.e.  "Whether  we  pursue  the  Parthians  on  land,  or  the  Britons  with 
our  fleet." 

This  is  the  passage  before  spoken  of  as  considered  to  afford  a 
striking  corroboration  of  Xiphilinus  ;  for  as  Propertius  was  contem- 
porary with  the  British  king  Timancius,  the  father  of  Cunobeline, 
between  whom  and  Augustus  there  were  misunderstandings  for 
nearly  twenty  years,  as  we  may  gather  from  Dion  Cassius  and 
Horace,  this  passage  applies  to  the  very  time  when  it  may  be  inferred 
from  Xiphilinus  that  the  Britons  possessed  naval  forces  :  and  there- 
fore is  attended  with  the  greater  probability. 

It  is  true  the  speech  as  in  Xiphilinus  from  Dion  may  not  be  con- 
sidered so  much  as  expressing  the  very  words  of  Boadicea  as  intro- 
duced as  a  species  of  ornament  of  composition,  in  imitation  of  a 
passage  in  the  sixth  book,  c.  34,  of  Thucydides.  In  the  place  in 
question  the  Syracusans  are  represented  as  addressed  by  one  of  their 
leaders,  who  expostulates  with  them,  and  incites  them  to  fit  out  a 
fleet  in  the  endeavour  to  cut  off  the  Athenians  on  their  passage. 
This,  however,  seems  a  confirmation  rather  than  otherwise,  as  no  one 
will  assert  that  the  Syracusans  might  not  have  so  acted,  and  fitted  out 
a  naval  force.  The  like  capability  must,  therefore,  be  conceded  to 
the  ancient  Britons. 

If  it  be  conceded  that  the  Britons  possessed  ships,  it  may  only  be 
deemed  congruous  to  the  advance  they  had  made  in  coinage  ;  though  it 
is  true  no  representation  of  a  ship,  or  aught  approaching  to  it,  appears 
on  any  of  the  coins  of  Cunobeline,  or  those  of  other  British  princes. 
It  would  also  be  congruous  with  what  Strabo  mentions  respecting  the 


Ancietit  Boats  and  Canoes.  51 

custom-house  duties  {portoria)  paid  in  Gaulish  ports  on  goods  exported 
and  imported  to  and  from  Britain,  which  amounted  to  an  equal  sum 
to  the  Roman  tribute.  It  is  improbable  that  some  of  these  goods 
should  not  have  been  conveyed  in  British  ships.  Can  it  be  believed 
that  there  were  no  merchants  in  Britain,  or  that,  if  there  were,  these 
possessed  no  ships  in  a  country  abounding  with  every  material  for 
their  construction  ?  The  silence  of  ancient  authors  may  not  there- 
fore be  taken  as  a  conclusive  negative  argument  in  this  case. 

Yours,  etc.         B.  Poste. 

Ancient  Boats  and  Canoes. 

[1826,  Part  II.,  pp.  99,  100.] 

A  few  weeks  since,  as  some  workmen  were  employed  in  digging 
a  well  at  the  residence  of  Gregory  Doyle,  Esq.,  in  St.  James's  parish, 
Shaftesbury,  they  discovered  in  a  bed  of  sand,  after  cutting  through  a 
stratum  of  solid  rock  nearly  eight  feet  thick,  an  instrument  resembling 
a  paddle,  made  of  British  oak,  of  the  rudest  workmanship,  and  in  the 
best  state  of  preservation,  with  this  exception,  that  it  had  a  covering  of 
a  spongy  nature.  It  is  three  feet  five  inches  long,  and  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  Recorder,  Charles  Bowles,  Esq. 

Yours,  etc.  T.  Adams. 

Mr.  Gregory  Doyle,  on  whose  premises  this  curious  instrument  was 
discovered,  has  thus  certified  the  circumstances  of  the  discovery  : 

"  In  sinking  a  well  in  the  yard,  at  the  back  of  my  house  in  St. 
James's  Street,  the  instrument  here  represented  [a  wood  block  is  here 
given]  was  discovered.     It  is  three  feet  five  inches  long. 

"After  going  through  four  feet  of  the  Town  grit,  or  chert,  seven 
feet  of  the  solid  green  sandstone-rock,  and  nine  feet  of  loose  green 
sand  under  the  rock,  Henry  Patfield,  the  well-digger,  in  my  presence, 
on  July  15,  1826,  perceived  the  handle  or  small  end  of  the  instrument 
protruding  itself  into  the  well  about  ten  inches,  lying  in  a  position 
considerably  inclined,  perhaps  at  fifty  degrees,  the  broad  part  being 
lowest,  and  pointing  in  a  direction  towards  the  base  of  the  rock,  on 
which  the  tower  of  St.  Peter's  Church  stands  about  100  feet  above. 

"  When  drawn  out,  the  instrument,  which  is  of  sound  oak,  was 
apparently  in  a  state  of  external  decay,  which  being  perhaps  un- 
fortunately washed  to  the  depth  of  about  \  inch  all  round,  it 
remained  with  a  solid  surface. 

"  Gregory  Doyle." 

The  following  remarks  have  been  communicated  by  Mr.  Rutter, 
bookseller,  Shaftesbury  : 

"Mr.  Doyle's  house  is  south-west  of  the  hill,  100  feet  below  its 
summit.      The  springs  on  that  side  have  all  a  south-west  course,  the 

4—2 


52  Early  Historic  Remains. 

surface  of  the  earth  dedining  in  that  direction.  The  nearest  well  to 
Mr.  Doyle's  is  the  Abbey  Well,  sunk  from  the  summit  of  the  hill  to 
the  depth  of  120  feet,  at  200  yards  to  the  west.  A  shallow  well,  ten 
feet  deep,  and  on  a  level  with  Mr.  Doyle's,  was  dug  about  50  years 
since,  and  in  a  north-west  direction.  The  depth  of  the  springs  is  120 
feet  from  the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  on  the  level  of  Mr.  Doyle's 
it  is  16  feet,  in  some  places  20  feet,  below  the  surface.  The 
shallow  well  mentioned  above  is  not  likely  to  be  connected  with  Mr. 
Doyle's,  being  supplied  by  land-springs  trom  the  hill  above  the 
rock." 

Another  correspondent,  the  Rev.  Wm.  Meyrick,  observes  : 
"The  only  possible  mode  in  which  the  paddle  could  have  got 
thither,  must  have  been  by  the  current  of  some  spring,  having  been 
left  in  some  other  well,  perhaps  that  of  the  Abbey,  and  that  channel 
afterwards  choked  up  by  sand  ;  at  least  this  is  my  own  explanation, 
and  to  myself  satisfactory.  In  any  point  of  view  it  is  very  singular, 
and  the  paddle  itself  of  great  antiquity,  for  it  is  formed  either  with  a 
celt,  or  as  if  with  a  coarse  knife,  though  I  conceive  it  to  have  preceded 
the  use  of  iron,  and  therefore  cut  with  a  celt.  It  is  clearly  of  oak,  and 
the  decayed  surface  was  no  way  scraped,  but  only  washed  off  with  the 
sharp  sand  upon  it ;  and  let  me  add,  that  Mr.  Doyle's  statement  is 
far  above  all  suspicion,  and  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  any 
imposition  by  the  digger,  as,  the  well  being  close  to  the  door,  Mr. 
Doyle  was  anxiously  watching  the  finding  water,  saw  himself  the  end 
of  the  handle  before  Patfield  noticed  it,  and  saw  him  take  it  out  01 
the  unmoved  and  solid  bed  of  sand,  then  three  feet  deep." 

[1834, /'a;//.,//.  94,  95-] 

A  few  weeks  ago,  some  workmen  employed  in  deepening  a  ditch 
on  the  land  of  Odiarne  Coates,  Esq.,  at  the  Warren,  near  New 
Romney,  dug  some  timbers,  about  18  inches  below  the  old  bottom  ; 
and  on  clearing  away  the  soil  in  which  it  was  embedded,  they  dis- 
covered that  what  had  for  thirty  years  been  deemed  to  be  old  piling 
was  in  fact  the  timber-head  of  a  vessel,  24  feet  in  width  and  52  feet 
in  length,  and  having  a  depth  of  8  feet  in  the  hold,  built  chiefly  of 
oak  timber,  with  some  elm  and  fir,  clinker  built,  and  trunnelled.  It 
is  supposed  to  have  been  a  sloop,  as  the  step  of  the  mast  was  remain- 
ing. Many  of  the  timbers  were  found  firm  and  solid  when  cut  with 
a  saw ;  and  some  pieces  of  rope,  retaining  the  smell  of  tar,  were  also 
found.  Some  skulls  of  horned  animals  of  the  goat  kind,  bones,  it  is 
said,  of  men  as  well  as  animals,  and  some  copper  coins,  were  found 
on  board.  The  situation  of  the  vessel  is  full  six  furlongs  from  the 
sea,  and  at  the  back  of  the  Warren  House.  It  is  recorded  that  in 
1250  the  towns  of  Winchilsea  and  Romney  were  nearly  destroyed  by 
a  hurricane  ;  of  which  the  following  account  is  given  in  Holinshed 
upon  the  authority  of  Matthew  Paris  :  "The  first  day  of  October,  the 


Ancient  Boats  and  Canoes.  53 

moon  upon  her  change  appearing  exceeding  red  and  swelled,  began 
to  show  tokens  of  the  great  tempest  of  wind  which  followed,  which 
was  so  huge  and  mightie,  both  by  land  and  sea,  that  the  like  hath  not 
been  lightly  known,  and  seldom  or  rather  never  heard  of  by  men  then 
alive.  The  sea,  forced  contrary  to  her  natural  course,  flowed  twice 
without  ebbing,  yielding  such  a  roaring  noise  that  the  same  was  heard 
a  far  distance  from  the  shore.  Moreover,  the  same  sea  appeared  in 
the  dark  of  the  night  to  burn,  as  it  had  been  on  fire,  and  the  waves 
to  strive  and  fight  together  after  a  marvellous  sort,  so  that  the  mariners 
could  not  devise  how  to  save  their  ships  where  they  lay  at  anchor,  by 
no  cunning  nor  shift  which  they  could  devise.  At  Hurtburne  three 
tall  ships  perished  without  being  recovered,  besides  other  smaller 
vessels.  At  Winchilsea,  besides  other  hurt  that  was  done  in  bridges, 
mills,  breaks,  and  banks,  there  were  three  hundred  houses  and  some 
churches  drowned  with  the  high  rising  of  the  watercourse."  It  must 
have  been  this,  or  some  storm  of  similar  violence,  which  buried  the 
vessel  now  discovered. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  sewer  in  which  she  was  embedded  still 
retains  the  name  of  the  Haven. 

[1834,  Pa;//.,/.  638.] 

An  ancient  boat  has  been  lately  discovered  in  deepening  a  sewer 
ditch  at  North  Stoke,  a  village  near  the  Arun  in  Sussex.  It  is  formed 
out  of  a  single  oak  tree,  like  the  Indian  canoes,  and  is  believed  to  be 
what  was  called  by  the  ancient  Britons,  a  cwch.  It  is  in  good 
preservation,  measures  34  feet  6  inches  in  length,  4  feet  6  inches  wide 
in  the  centre,  and  is  2  feet  high.  It  has  three  divisions,  which  appear 
to  have  served  the  double  purpose  of  seats  and  supports  to  the  sides. 
The  oak  is  become  as  black  as  ebony. 

[1841,  Part  II.,  p.  190.] 

An  ancient  canoe  was  lately  found  in  Haddenham  Fen,  Isle  of  Ely, 
by  some  men  digging  gault,  5  feet  below  the  surface.  It  was  lying 
bottom  upwards,  and  is  in  length  26  feet,  and  in  breadth  something 
above  4  feet,  with  rullocks  for  three  pair  of  oars ;  about  5  feet  in 
length  v;as  broken  off  the  canoe  in  getting  it  out.  It  appeared  on 
close  inspection  to  be  hollowed  out  from  the  trunk  of  a  single  tree, 
like  that  found  in  1834,  near  the  river  Arun  in  Sussex,  now  placed 
in  the  courtyard  of  the  British  Museum,  and  engraved  in  the  26th 
volume  of  the  Archaologia.     That  canoe  is  35  feet  long. 

[1843,  Part  I. ,  p.  522.] 

In  January  last,  as  two  labouring  men  were  casting  about  on  the 
beach  at  the  west  end  of  Worthing,  for  something  to  engage  their  atten- 
tion, at  last  they  were  recommended  by  way  of  employment  to  go 
and  dig  up  a  plank,  which  was  seen  protruding  through  the  sands  120 


54  Early  Historic  Remains. 

yards  from  the  shore  at  Heene.  Acting  upon  the  suggestion,  they 
proceeded  to  the  spot  and  set  to  work.  By  degrees,  as  they  removed 
the  sand,  the  object  of  their  labour  was  found  to  extend  some  distance 
downwards,  and  to  present  a  shape  which  indicated  that  it  was  not  a 
mere  plank,  as  they  at  first  thought.  At  length  they  drew  out  an 
ancient  boat  of  considerable  length,  formed  out  of  an  oak  tree.  It 
has  ridges  across  the  floor  to  give  it  strength,  and  is  square  at  both 
ends  ;  it  has  no  keel,  and  is  sloped  away  under  the  ends  to  the 
bottom.  Around  the  sides  some  pieces  of  wood  were  pegged  on,  and 
in  one  place  in  the  side  a  small  piece  of  sliding  wood  was  fitted  in. 
The  soil  in  which  it  was  imbedded  was  one  of  black  mud,  and  has 
imparted  its  own  colour  to  the  boat,  which  yields  to  the  pressure  of 
the  finger.  In  1834  a  similar  boat  was  dug  up  at  North  Stoke.  It 
is  said  that  at  various  times,  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  past,  the  upper 
end  of  the  boat  had  been  seen  above  the  sands,  and  that  it  was 
always  supposed  to  have  been  the  stump  of  an  old  groyne  pile.  The 
lower  end  was  five  feet  beneath  the  surface.  It  was  bought  by  Mr. 
Tuff,  of  the  Spaniard  Inn. 

[1829,  Part  II., p.  267.] 

The  workmen  employedin  excavating  a  foundation  in  St.  JohnStreet, 
Perth,  lately  discovered  the  remains  of  a  boat  at  a  depth  of  about  10 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  prow  was  pretty  entire  ;  the 
planks  and  bindings  were  of  oak,  and  the  former  were  not  only 
fastened  with  copper  rivets,  but,  unlike  those  of  modern  construction, 
were  rabetted  upon  one  another.  A  well-formed  rope  of  exceedingly 
fine  heather  was  attached  to  the  vessel,  and  extended  a  considerable 
way  in  the  earth  from  where  it  lay.  Under  and  about  the  boat 
distinct  vestiges  of  willows,  and  other  aquatic  shrubs  and  plants,  were 
discovered,  and,  indeed,  all  the  appearances  afford  proof  that  the 
vessel  is  of  great  antiquity,  and  must  have  been  deposited  there  many 
centuries  ago. 

[1825,  Part  11,  Ip.  167,  16S.] 

In  making  the  common  sewer,  in  London  Street,  Glasgow,  from 
the  part  near  the  Cross,  which  is  finished,  down  to  the  Molendinar 
Eurn,  there  was  found,  some  time  ago,  at  the  depth  of  about  10  feet, 
the  remains  of  a  boat  lying  in  a  bed  of  blue  clay,  which  was  covered 
and  surrounded  by  fine  sand,  like  that  found  on  the  shores  of  a 
navigable  river  or  wide  frith.  Some  of  the  nails  which  were  used  as 
fastenings  were  in  the  wood,  which  was  fine  oak,  and  become  quite 
black  from  its  long  immersion  under  the  earth.  The  calking  used 
for  the  boat  appeared  to  have  been  wool  dipped  in  tar.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that,  some  years  ago,  when  the  common  sewer  was  cutting  in  the 
Stockwell,  a  boat  of  a  similar  description  was  found  a  little  above 
Jackson  Street ;  which  would  indicate  that  these  two  places  where 


Ancient  Boats  and  Canoes.  55 

the  boats  have  been  found  were  then  the  line  of  the  shore  of  the 
frith,  or  bed  of  the  river,  These  boats  must  have  lain  in  the  places 
where  found  many  centuries.  It  is  not  probable  they  belonged  to,  or 
were  constructed  by,  the  aborigines  of  the  country.  The  workman- 
ship would  indicate  that  they  were  formed  by  a  people  consider- 
ably advanced  in  civilization.  It  is  probable  they  were  constructed 
by  the  Romans,  about  the  period  of  Agricola's  expedition  into  Cale- 
donia, about  1,740  years  ago;  at  which  period,  there  seems  little 
reason  to  doubt,  the  greater  part  of  the  ground  on  which  Glasgow 
now  stands,  and  all  the  low  lands  on  both  banks  of  the  river,  to  a 
considerable  distance,  were  covered  by  the  water  of  the  Clyde. 

[1848,  Part  II.,  p.  637.] 

On  the  2nd  November  workmen  employed  in  forming  a  new  quay 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Clyde  at  Glasgow,  about  300  feet  from  the 
margin  of  the  present  channel  of  the  river,  came  upon  a  canoe  em- 
bedded in  fine  sand,  at  least  20  feet  from  the  surface.  The  boat, 
when  measured,  was  found  to  be  19  feet  in  length,  by  z\  feet  deep, 
and  2\  feet  wide.  It  has  a  sharp  prow  and  square  stern,  and  has 
been  cut  out  of  the  solid  oak.  From  the  length  and  other  appear- 
ances it  would  seem  to  be  adapted  for  six  oars.  The  wood  is  in 
pretty  good  preservation,  but  part  of  it  was  broken  by  the  work- 
men in  digging  it  out.  It  is  the  intention  of  Mr.  Brownlie,  the 
contractor,  to  have  the  piece  that  has  been  broken  off  preserved,  along 
with  the  rest  of  the  ancient  structure. 

[1834,  T'^r//.,/.  95-] 

Another  ancient  vessel  has  been  found  in  the  Loch  of  Spynie,  near 
Elgin,  by  Mr.  Dean,  farmer,  of  Easter  Oakenhead,  while  engaged  in 
ploughing  land,  situate  on  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  loch,  which 
had  been  reclaimed  since  the  draining  of  the  loch.  Its  length 
appears  to  have  been  30  feet,  the  whole  of  the  ribs  are  entire,  com- 
posed of  oak,  and  the  stern  is  quite  round.  When  the  excavators 
came  to  that  part  of  the  vessel  which  must  have  been  the  deck, 
although  distinguishable  enough,  yet  the  spade  went  through  it  as  if 
it  had  only  been  clay.  The  whole  of  the  space  betwixt  the  ribs  and 
the  outer  and  inner  covering,  of  which  we  could  find  no  more  traces 
than  we  did  of  the  deck,  had  been  closely  filled  up  with  heather, 
which  appeared  before  touching  it  quite  fresh,  but  immediately  after 
became  a  pulp.  It  is  thought  probable  that  this  vessel  has  been  lost 
nearly  six  hundred  years,  as  one  of  its  dimensions  could  not  have 
navigated  the  loch,  particularly  the  part  where  it  has  been  found 
after  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century. 

\\Zso,  Fart  I., p.  197.] 
A  short  time  ago  some  workmen,  engaged  in  making  a  drain  on 


56  Early  Historic  Reinains. 

the  farm  of  Knaven,  on  the  estate  of  Nethermuir,  County  Aberdeen, 
discovered  a  boat,  evidently  of  great  antiquity,  quite  entire,  and  still 
in  high  preservation.  It  was  found  at  a  depth  of  5  feet  from  the 
surface,  in  a  deposit  of  moss,  at  the  head  of  a  small  ravine.  It  is 
formed  out  of  a  solid  oak-tree,  and  is  11  feet  long,  and  nearly  4 
broad,  having  at  the  stern  a  projecting  part,  with  an  eye  in  it  for  the 
purpose  of  mooring.  It  is  of  a  very  rude  manufacture,  and  the  mark 
of  the  hatchet,  or  instrument  by  which  it  was  constructed,  is  still 
visible.  The  farm  of  Knaven  is  several  miles  from  the  river  Ythan, 
and  many  from  the  sea,  and  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture  what  use  the 
boat  had  been  intended  for,  unless,  indeed,  there  had  been  an 
accumulation  of  water  below,  and  of  which  the  ravine  was  the  head, 
and  it  might  have  been  employed  for  crossing  the  swamp.  Near  this 
ancient  boat  were  found  the  stumps  and  roots  of  several  very  large 
oaks.  An  eminent  shipbuilder  on  the  Clyde  is  of  opinion  that  there 
is  hardly  now  growing  in  Scotland  an  oak-tree  of  sufficient  size  to 
produce  a  boat  of  these  dimensions.  With  the  exception  of  the 
thriving  young  plantations  near  the  house  of  Nethermuir,  nothing  but 
oat-plant  or  the  turnip  is  now  to  be  seen  in  this  quarter.  The  curious 
relic  has  been  placed  under  water  (for  the  purpose  of  preserving  it)  at 
Nethermuir. 

[1821,  Part  IL,fp.  454,  455.] 

The  Newry  Telegraph  says  :  "  About  two  months  ago,  two  oak 
canoes,  each  21  feet  in  length,  and  excavated  from  the  tree,  were 
found  in  Loughisland  Ravey,  near  Castlewellan.  The  right  side  of  the 
one,  and  the  left  side  of  the  other,  were  convex  in  form  ;  the  opposite 
sides  were  perfectly  straight,  so  as  that  the  two  could  have  been 
occasionally  joined  together.  Some  curious  implements  of  war  were 
found  in  the  bottoms  of  these  canoes.  The  timber  of  these  antique 
vessels  was  perfectly  sound,  and  the  whole  in  a  high  state  of  pre- 
servation. Unfortunately  the  finders,  who  had  little  respect  for 
antiquity,  have  burned  part  of  the  canoes,  and  made  furniture  of  the 
remainder." 

\\%T,(),  Part  I.,  p.  196.] 

A  short  time  ago,  when  the  water  was  drawn  off  Lough  Reavy,  for 
the  purpose  of  deepening  the  part  nearest  the  discharge  pipes,  three 
old  canoes,  each  apparently  hollowed  out  of  a  single  tree,  were  dis- 
covered embedded  in  the  mud.  One  has  been  conveyed  to  Lord 
Downshire's  seat  at  Hillsborough  ;  another  to  Castle  Ward,  the  seat  of 
the  Bangor  family  ;  and  the  third  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of 
Roden,  at  Tullymore. 

[1841,  Part  II.,  p.  639.] 

Some  men  engaged  in  digging  stones  in  a  bog  on  the  lands  of  Upper 
Ballylaneen,  County  Waterford,  the  estate  of  Sir  Charles  Kennedy, 


Stone  and  Flint  Implements.  57 

Bart.,  lately  discovered  a  kind  of  canoe,  of  rude  workmanship.  It 
was  hewn  out  of  the  trunk  of  a  large  oak-tree,  sufficiently  large  to 
bear  up  three  persons,  being  eight  and  a  half  feet  in  length,  and  two 
feet  ten  inches  in  breadth,  and  round  on  the  bottom.  It  is 
astonishingly  perfect,  considering  the  situation  it  was  placed  in,  being 
embedded  in  turf  mould,  and  surrounded  by  large  stones.  It  is  at 
present  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  David  Power,  the  farmer  who  holds 
the  lands  on  which  it  was  discovered. 

Stone  and  Flint  Implements. 

[1833,  Pari  /.,  pp.  204,  205.] 

....  Some  writers  inform  us  that  the  bow  and  arrow  were  unknown 
in  Britain  at  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest  (so  scanty  is  authentic 
information  on  the  subject) ;  others  date  its  introduction  to  the  time 
of  the  Saxons  ;  while  a  few  modern  writers  on  Archery  suppose  these 
weapons  were  first  used  in  Britain  at  the  Romain  invasion,  55  years 
B.C.  Certain  it  is,  that  prior  to  that  period  no  mention  whatever  is 
made  of  the  bow  in  this  island  ;  indeed  Caesar,  Strabo,  Cornelius 
Tacitus,  and  many  other  writers,  who  have  been  very  minute  in  de- 
scribing the  manners  and  customs  of  the  ancient  Britons,  make  no 
mention  of  the  bow  whatever ;  but  describe  them  as  fighting 
principally  in  chariots  having  scythes  attached  to  the  axle-tree,  and 
also  making  use  of  darts  to  annoy  the  enemy.  Probably  their  bows 
were  of  an  inferior  description,  and  not  used  by  them  in  battle,  or 
some  of  the  early  writers  would  certainly  have  made  mention  of  them 
(for  we  are  furnished  with  numerous  accounts  of  their  being  in  use  on 
the  Continent  at  a  much  earlier  date).  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  trust  the 
silence  of  history  on  any  subject  does  not  deny  a  fact  that  may  in 
after-ages  be  clearly  proved ;  and  in  my  humble  opinion,  those  flint 
arrow-heads  furnish  us  with  indisputable  evidence  that  Archery  was 
known  in  these  islands  very  many  centuries  before  the  invasion. 

Stone  arrow-heads  have  been  and  are  occasionally  found  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe.  They  are  generally  very  similar  in  shape, 
although  differing  in  size  and  material ;  I  have  now  before  me  four  of 
them  which  have  been  found  in  the  British  Islands.  The  largest 
specimen  is  an  inch  and  half  in  length,  and  weighs  five  pennyweights ; 
it  is  perfectly  white  in  colour,  and  semi-transparent,  like  an  agate,  and 
corresponds  with  Mr.  Moseley's  description  of  those  found  in  Ireland, 
of  which  he  says  "  some  are  almost  as  pellucid  as  an  onyx."  The 
second  in  size  is  made  of  the  common  brown  flint,  and  exactly 
resembles  the  engraving  given  in  your  January  number  [1833,  Part  I., 
p.  13].  The  third  is  of  a  motley  coloured  flint,  rather  more  rounded 
at  the  point,  and  very  similar  to  a  drawing  of  one  given  in  Allanson's 
"Illustrations  of  Arms,  etc.,  at  Goodrich  Court,"  plate  46.  The  smallest 
one  is  only  seven-eighths    of  an    inch   in   length,   and   weighs    but 


58  Early  Historic  Remains. 

thirteen  grains  ;  it  is  composed  of  a  reddish-coloured  flint,  and  is 
similar  to  specimens  found  in  some  parts  of  Scotland.  Moseley  says, 
"There  are  some  in  Perthshire  red,  which  appear  to  have  been  the 
heads  of  very  small  arrows."* 

Stone  arrow-heads  are  sometimes  improperly  called  Elf-stones,  a 
name  given  to  them  by  the  superstitious  inhabitants  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  from  their  not  being  able  to  account  for  them  in  any  other  way, 

but  by  supposing  them  to  have  been  shot  by  fairies 

Geo.  Milner,  Junr. 

[1833,  Part  I.,p.zo^.^ 

In  corroboration  of  the  inferences  of  your  valuable  correspondent 
Mr.  Milner,  of  Kingston-upon-Hull,  I  beg  leave  to  observe  that  the 
Biva^  or  bow,  was  an  ancient  Celtic  weapon  known  in  Britain  long 
before  the  Roman  Arcus  had  made  its  appearance,  and  that 
Herodotus  mentions  Abaris  (Ab-Aris,  the  son  of  Aris),  the  priest  of 
the  Hyperboreans,  by  some  supposed  the  inhabitants  of  this  island,  to 
have  carried  a  7-eed  arrow  with  him.  The  Triads  celebrate  Gwrneth, 
the  sharp-shooter,  as  shooting  with  ;v^^  arrows  ;  and  we  may  judge  of 
the  estimation  in  which  archery  was  once  held  from  the  very  ancient 
adage,  "  Nid  hyder  ond  Bwa,"  "  There  is  no  reliance  but  on  the  bow." 
It  is  true  that  Gwrneth,  and  perhaps  Abaris,  may  be  mythological 
personages  ;  but  reed  arrows  would  not  have  been  assigned  them  had 
that  material  not  been  in  general  use  in  Britain.  These  were  headed 
with  bones  sharpened  to  an  acute  edge,t  or  flints  ground  down  to  a 

proper  shape,  such  as  mentioned  by  Mr.  Milner I  have  only 

met  with  one  bronze  arrow-head  that  I  feel  warranted  in  pronouncing 
ancient  British.  This  was  found  in  a  cist-vaen  in  the  grounds  be- 
longing to  Whitfield,  about  seven  miles  south-west  of  Hereford,  and 

is  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Arthur  Clive 

Samuel  R.  Meyrick. 

[1789,  Part  II.,p.^^^.■\ 

....  It  appears  from  Exodus  iv.  2  5,  that  the  Midianites  used  a  sharp 
stone  instead  of  a  knife  in  the  time  of  Moses.  Stones  and  clubs  were 
undoubtedly  the  first  offensive  weapons  ;  and  it  is  positively  asserted 
by  Pliny,  that  the  latter  were  used  by  the  Libyans  in  an  ancient  war 
which  this  people  had  with  the  Egyptians.  An  author,  whose  name 
at  present  I  cannot  recollect,  informs  us,  that  the  maritime  nations  of 
Italy  formerly  pointed  their  darts  with  the  bony  termination  of  the  tail 
of  the  fireflair.  Tacitus  says,  that  the  Germans,  in  his  time,  headed 
their  spears  very  sparingly  with  iron,  which  they  obtained  by  barter 
from  the  Gauls  and  Italians  ;  but  that  the  Finni,  a  very  extensive 
tribe,  but  ruder  than  the  rest,  without  cattle,  and  without  habitations, 

*  Engravings  of  three  varieties  of  stone  arrow-heads  may  be  seen  in  Moseley's 
Essay  on  Archery,  page  115. 
+  See  Archaeol.,  vol.  xv,,  p.  3. 


Sto7ie  and  Flint  hnplements.  59 

depended  on  their  bows  for  subsistence ;  and  it  would  be  folly  to 
suppose  that  a  people,  thus  destitute  of  arts  and  commerce,  could 
procure  any  other  tips  for  their  arrows  than  those  of  the  simplest  kind. 
There  is  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  any  historic  evidence  proving  that 
these  primitive  instruments  were  ever  used  by  the  ancient  Britons. 
Julius  Caesar,  who  describes  their  manners,  found  them  possessed  of 
copper  and  iron,  though  sufificiendy  barbarous  in  other  respects ;  the 
former  they  obtained  by  commerce,  and  the  latter  was  extracted  from 
the  ore  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  who,  being  of  Gallic  extraction, 
were  acquainted  with  the  arts  of  the  Continent.  By  this  early  inter- 
course between  our  ancestors  and  their  more  cultivated  neighbours, 
the  Romans  were  prevented  from  observing  those  sequestered  islanders 
in  their  native  simplicity ;  they  had  surmounted  the  more  destitute 
condition  of  savage  life  previous  to  the  first  visit  of  their  conquerors  ; 
and  before  the  commencement  of  their  history  they  were  become  too 
sensible  of  the  superior  advantages  of  metals,  to  depend  on  imple- 
ments made  of  more  imperfect  materials.  But  the  researches  of  the 
antiquary  have  supplied  the  defects  of  written  records,  flints  are  found 
in  different  parts  of  Scotland,  which  have  been  fashioned  with  great 
labour  into  the  heads  of  arrows.  The  stone  from  which  these  views 
are  given  (pi.  11.  figs.  6,  7,  8)  is  of  the  same  date,  and  from  the  same 
hands.  It  was  found  in  a  rivulet  in  the  North  of  Cumberland.  The 
peculiarity  of  its  form  renders  it  impossible  to  determine  its  precise 
use.  It  has  evidently  been  intended  for  an  offensive  weapon,  and  its 
employer,  in  all  probability,  either  tied  it  to  the  end  of  a  thong,  or 
fixed  it  in  a  wicker  handle D.  G. 

[1790,  Part  II.,  pp.  799,  800.] 

Perhaps  the  following  description  of  the  stone  will  not  be  thought 
superfluous,  in  addition  to  the  plate.  The  central  part  of  it  is,  in 
figure,  an  imperfect  oval ;  its  two  greatest  diameters  are  2\  and  if 
inches.  It  projects  both  ways,  in  respect  to  the  thinner  parts  of  the 
stone,  and  the  two  prominences  are  neither  equal  in  height  nor 
similar  in  form  ;  the  greater  is  terminated  by  an  oval  plane,  which  is 
if  by  i^  inches;  the  less  is  bounded  by  a  surface  somewhat  convex, 
and  both  parts  are  marked  with  rings  parallel  to  their  common  base ; 
those  of  the  former  are  oval,  but  those  of  the  latter  nearly  circular  ; 
the  two  projections  uniting  in  their  common  base  form  an  acute  angle, 
which  inclines  a  litde  towards  the  higher  side  ;  and  the  whole  is  some- 
thing more  than  \\  inches  in  thickness.  The  two  thinner  parts  of  the 
stone,  which  may  be  called  the  blades  of  the  instrument,  are  alike  in  size 
and  figure,  projecting  about  an  inch  from  the  longer  sides  of  the  central 
part  to  which  they  are  fixed ;  their  ends  appear  to  be  arches  of  circles, 
and  their  diameters  contract  a  Uttle  where  they  join  the  prominent 
part,  forming  two  depressions  on  each  blade  ;  they  are  convex  on  both 
sides,  but  more  so  on  one  side  than  the  other,  and  the  angle  which  con- 


6o  Early  Historic  Remains. 

stitutes  their  edges  resembles  that  mentioned  above,  surrounding  the 
central  part 

It  does  not  strike  fire  with  steel ;  its  weight  in  air  is  6  oz.  i8  dwts. 
13  gr.  ;  in  water,  4  oz.  5  dwts.  8  gr. ;  therefore  its  specific  gravity  is 
expressed  by  2'6o4 

Being  no  antiquary  myself,  and  supposing  the  curiosity  worthy  the 
attention  of  persons  of  this  description,  I  have  deposited  it  in  the 
public  museum  of  Mr.  Crosthwaite,  of  Keswick,  for  the  inspection  of 
such  as  may  have  an  opportunity  and  inclination  to  examine  it. 

D.  G. 

[1783,  Part  /.,  //.  393,  394.] 

I  cannot  with  any  propriety  send  you  a  sketch  of  a  very  singular 
instrument  lately  discovered  here  {See  Plate,  fig.  2.),  without  adding 
a  few  words  of  description  and  illustration,  though  in  speaking  of  it 
in  the  latter  respect  I  cannot  be  very  particular,  but  am  obliged  to 
keep  to  generals. 

The  weapon- — for  I  am  of  opinion  we  ought  to  call  it  by  that  name 
— was  found,  July,  1778,  in  a  field  at  Brimington,  County  Derby,  as 
the  labourers  were  opening  a  stone  quarry  for  the  use  of  the 
turnpike-road  then  making  between  Brimington  and  Whittington, 
and  was  given  to  me  by  a  friend.  It  was  lodged  in  a  bed  of  yellow 
clay,  and  is  judged  to  be  ironstone.  However,  it  was  found  exactly 
in  this  form,  having  had  no  tool  upon  it  since,  except  that  the  clay 
adhering  to  it  was  scraped  off  with  a  knife. 

It  is  22  inches  long,  including  the  handle,  2  inches  broad  in  the 
broadest  part,  which  is  that  next  the  handle,  i  inch  broad  at  the 
end,  and  f  inch  thick,  though  in  that  not  quite  uniform.  It  is 
whitish,  of  a  close  texture,  smooth,  and  ponderous  ;  and  when  held 
by  the  handle  would  give  a  most  deadly  blow,  and  yet  I  think  would 
be  very  liable  to  break,  and  therefore  would  not  be  comparable  to 
the  iron  maces  used  in  later  times ;  I  say,  in  later  times,  because  I 
esteem  it  a  fighting  club  of  the  Britons,  for,  having  neither  edge  nor 
point,  it  was  apparently  made  for  striking. 

When  brass  and  iron  were  scarce  in  this  island,  it  was  natural  for 
the  inhabitants  to  apply  stone  to  those  purposes  for  which  we  now 
use  metals.  Hence  we  hear  of  arrow-heads  of  stone,  axes,  hammers, 
knives,  etc. ;  and  indeed  several  of  these  appear  in  our  museums.  But 
it  seems  absurd  to  think  an  entire  weapon,  shaft  and  point,  should 
consist  of  stone ;  and  consequently,  when  Wormius  speaks  of  a 
stone-spear,  hasta  lapidea,*  we  must  understand  him  of  the  cuspis 
only ;  and  yet  I  know  not  whether  the  whole  short  arrow,  for  so  the 
author  calls  it,  found  lodged  in  the  blubber  of  a  fish,  was  not 
entirely  made  of  stone.     However,  his  words  concerning  the  hasta 

'  If  this  great  antiquary  and  naturalist  had  meant  a  spear's  head  only,  as  some 
may  think,  he  would  surely  have  termed  it  Hashc  Cuspis,  vel  spiculum. 


Stone  and  Flint  Implements.  6i 


lapidea  are  these  :  "  Non  ita  pridem  in  dioecesi  Ripensi,  una  cum 
urnis  effossa  est  hasta  lapidea  ex  silice  affabre  elaborata,  quam  naturae 
an  artis  esset  opus  dubitarunt  quotquot  earn  apud  me  viderunt."* 
There  was  dug  up  not  long  since  in  the  diocese  of  Ripon,  along  with 
some  urns,  a  stone-spear,  exquisitely  formed  of  flint ;  and  those  who 
saw  it  in  my  museum  could  not  resolve  whether  it  was  the  work  of 
nature  or  of  art. 

Certainly,  Mr.  Urban,  it  is  very  uncommon  to  meet  with  warlike 
instruments  of  such  a  length  as  our  mace,  composed  of  stone ;  but  I 
make  no  doubt  but  both  the  one  and  the  other  were  the  work  of  art, 
though  some  of  Wormius's  visitors  were,  it  seems,  in  doubt  as  to  this. 
That  the  club,  or  mace,  in  the  ruder  ages  of  the  world  was  applied  in 
warlike  frays  and  engagements,  we  have  all  the  reason  in  the  world 
to  imagine ;  though  it  must  be  acknowledged  it  was  made  of  very 
various  materials.  Hence  the  club  of  Hercules,  the  malleus  of  Thor, 
and  the  opinion  of  Horace,  who,  speaking  of  the  first  race  of  men, 

says  : 

" glandem  atque  cubilia  propter 

Unguibus  et  pagnis,  ditmfiistibiis,  atque  ita  porro 
Pugnabant  armis."t 

The  mace  was  used  in  war  by  many  nations,  Libyans,  Egyptians, 
Ethiopians,  Greeks,  Assyrians,  Germans,  and  Gauls.J  This,  however, 
is  the  only  one,  so  far  as  has  occurred  to  me,  ever  found  in  this 
island,  especially  as  made  of  stone.  T.  Row. 

[1784,  Par//.,/.  15.] 

The  stone  instruments  in  the  Plate,  figs.  2  aiid  3,  were  found, 
March  25,  1783,  between  2  and  3  feet  under  the  surface  of  a  malm 
bank,  a  few  feet  distant  from  each  other,  by  some  labourers  employed 
in  levelling  a  piece  of  marsh  land  called  Sickmarsh,  at  Bofifington, 
near  Stockbridge,  Hants,  belonging  to  Thomas  South,  Esquire. 
Within  a  few  feet  of  these,  and  nearly  on  the  same  depth,  they  found 
a  sort  of  hearth  or  pavement  of  flints  and  stones,  apparently  much 
discoloured,  cracked,  and  broken  by  the  heat  of  fire,  on  or  near  the 
spot  where  the  antique  pig  of  lead  exhibited  in  your  Magazine  for 
November  last  was  dug.  The  letters  on  the  lead  are  as  perfect  as 
when  they  came  out  of  the  mould ;  and  the  marks  on  the  stone 
blades  prove  that  they  were  made  in  the  rough  state  by  chipping 
them,  or  by  nicking  them  with  other  flints,  till  brought  nearly  to 
their  intended  shape,  and  then  polished  probably  in  the  same  manner 
that  we  now  polish  marble  in  sands  of  different  degrees  of  fineness. 

*  Wormii  Mon.  Dan.,  p.  47.     See  also  his  Museum,  p.  350.  ' 

f  Horat.  I  Serm.  III.  lOO.  The  North  CaroHnians  use  no.v  a  fighting  club. 
Thoresby,  p.  472. 

X  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Chronol.,  pp.  215,  227.    INIontf.  Antiq.,  IV.  pp.  iS,  20,  45. 


62  Early  Historic  Remains. 

From  a  survey  of  the  premises,  and  the  situation  of  the  place 
midway  between  the  wood  and  the  river,  joined  to  the  above 
circumstance  of  the  hearth,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conclude  that 
the  ancient  Britons,  who  were  as  unacquainted  with  iron  as  the 
savages  of  Otaheite,  made  use  of  flints  and  stones  instead  of  it,  for 
the  purposes  of  hollowing  their  boats  and  canoes,  and  for  other  uses. 
It  is  probable  they  first  hollowed  the  trunks  of  trees  by  fire ;  a 
quantity  of  hot  embers  being  taken  from  the  burning  hearth,  and  laid 
in  a  train  along  the  shaft  of  the  timber-stick.  The  coarse  flint  axe 
was  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  chipping  and  paring  away  the  burnt 
part,  and  finishing  the  groove  or  channel,  which  being  filled  with  a 
second  supply  of  embers,  the  fire  sank  deeper  by  degrees,  and  the 
coal  was  again  chopped  out,  till  by  repeated  process  the  requisite 
depth  was  attained  for  the  vessel.  Being  thus  rendered  lighter  and 
more  manageable,  it  was  then  perhaps  lifted  on  rollers,  and  propped 
with  its  ends  one  after  the  other  over  the  flame,  till  cooled  on  the 
outside,  and  then  with  the  same  instruments  shaped  and  finished 
according  to  the  rude  ideas  of  the  times. 

In  this  manner  the  Indians  of  Florida  and  Brazil  are  represented 
as  hollowing  their  canoes  by  our  early  voyagers. 

These  flint  blades,  compared  with  those  of  stone  lately  imported 
from  the  new-discovered  islands  in  the  South  Seas,  clearly  prove  that, 
in  the  infancy  of  arts,  the  necessities  of  war  drove  them  to  like 
inventions  in  all  countries,  however  remote  from  each  other. 

These  being  the  only  instruments  of  the  kind  I  have  seen  or  heard 
of,  of  British  manufacture,  I  thought  them  deserving  your  attention. 

T.  S. 

[1797,  Part  I.,  pp.  199,  200.] 

There  is  a  paper  in  the  first  and  only  volume  yet  published  of  the 
Transactions  of  the  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  by  Mr.  Little,  on  the 
expedients  used  by  the  Celts  in  this  country  previous  to  the  use  of 
metals.  His  dissertation  is  accompanied  by  a  plate ;  but  the  great 
defect  of  both  is,  that  no  scale  is  given,  nor  information  imparted,  as 
to  the  proportiotial  sizes  of  the  different  stone  utensils  and  weapons 
exhibited  and  described.  I  have  seen  many,  and  possess  a  few,  of 
the  small  ancient  darts,  or  arrow-heads,  composed  of  pebble  or  flint, 
in  various  forms,  but  chiefly  triangular,  and  barbed  with  wings,  or 
approaching  to  the  shape  of  the  geometrical  figure  termed  a 
rhomboid.  But  none  of  these  ever  exceeded  2  inches,  or  2^  inches, 
in  length.  Such  are  called  elf-arroivs  by  the  country  people  who 
find  them. 

I  enclose  you  an  exact  drawing  (Plate  II.),  showing  the  precise 
magnitude  and  form  of  a  very  remarkable  stone,  which  was  lately 
communicated  to  me  by  John  Guthrie,  Esquire,  of  Guthrie,  having 
been    found  in  a  cairn  on  his  estate   in   the  central  part    of  this 


Stone  ajtd  Flint  Implei7ients.  6'» 


o 


county  (Forfarshire).  No.  i  shows  its  length  and  breadth  ;*  and  No.  2 
its  length  and  thickness.  It  is  an  uncommonly  long  flint  or  pebble, 
of  a  dusky  straw-colour  slightly  blended  with  a  light-blue  shade,  is 
considerably  pellucid,  and  as  hard  and  susceptible  of  polish  as  the 
finest  cornelian.  The  sharpness  of  its  edges  and  point,  and  general 
regularity  of  its  form,  have  been  attained  with  surprising  perfection, 
when  the  remoteness  of  the  era  of  its  probable  formation  and 
untoward  means  employed  are  considered.  When  firmly  fastened  to 
a  shaft,  it  must  have  been  a  very  formidable  telum. 

Civis. 

[ 1 797,  Part  II. ,  pp.  729,  730. ] 

I  feel  a  sincere  pleasure  whenever  my  researches  can  produce,  or 
discover,  anything  new,  either  in  the  pursuit  of  Natural  History,  or 
the  antiquities  of  my  native  kingdom.  I  now  beg  to  acquaint  you  of 
the  discovery  of  a  stone  celt,  found  in  the  parish  of  Wolfardisworthy 
(vulgo  Woolfery),  in  the  county  of  Devon ;  and  herewith  you  receive 
a  drawing  of  the  exact  size.f  It  was  discovered  in  the  grounds  of 
William  Comyns,  Esquire,  by  a  labourer  who  was  trenching.  The 
singularity  of  the  appearance  of  the  stone  awakened  his  curiosity, 
and  he  had  laid  it  on  the  bank  for  future  inspection.  Fortunately, 
Mr.  Comyns  came  by,  and  rescued  the  antique  morsel,  otherwise, 
with  probability,  it  might  again  have  been  committed  to  oblivion  at 
the  spade's  depth  when  the  curiosity  of  the  labourer  had  been 
gratified.  The  man  reported  to  have  met  with  a  quantity  of  greasy 
ashes  (as  he  called  them)  at  a  small  distance  from  the  spot  where 
this  was  found.  This  curiosity,  I  believe,  is  unique  in  this  county, 
and  in  fine  preservation ;  is  a  yellowish  opaque  flint,  blended  in 
many  parts  with  bluish  and  whitish-yellow  spots  and  veins.  The 
edges  have  been  chipped  with  the  greatest  nicety  and  care,  and 
scarcely  appear  except  in  two  places,  i,  2,  in  this  view.  The  face  of 
the  whole  is  smooth  and  polished,  and  ground  or  rubbed  down  from 
the  centre  A  to  the  edges,  towards  the  broad  end,  to  a  very  sharp 
edge.  On  investigating  the  form  of  this  curious  piece  of  antiquity,  I 
think  it  was  used  for  no  other  purpose  but  as  a  knife,  by  grasping  it 
firm  in  the  hand  by  the  narrow  end,  and  cutting  with  it  at  the  broad ; 
and,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  derogate  from  the  opinion  of  men 
more  learned  than  myself,  I  must  give  up  the  idea  of  its  having  ever 
been  used  as  the  head  of  a  warlike  telum.  I  speak  alone  of  the 
stone  celts  :  those  celts  formed  of  brass,  or  other  metal,  that  have 
come  in  my  way,  I  have  no  doubt,  were  used  for  some  such 
purpose,  as  their  figure  and  formation  sufficiently  evince.  Borlase, 
in  his  "Antiquities  of  Cornwall,"  figures  a  stone  celt  found  in 
Cornwall ;  and,  from  the  chipping  of  its  edges  being  much  indented, 

*  In  our  Plate  the  figures  are  reduced  to  exactly  one  half\.h.t  real  size, 
f  In  the  engraving  (fig.  3)  it  is  exactly  two-thirds  of  the  real  size. 


64  Early  Historic  Remains. 

forms  an  opinion  that  the  indentations  were  for  the  purpose  of  more 
firmly  binding  or  fastening  it  unto  the  handle  or  shaft  of  the  spear. 
On  examining  his  figure,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  roughness  was 
entirely  owing  to  the  incapacity  of  the  workman,  or  the  brittleness  of 
the  stone,  which  by  the  act  of  chipping  splintered  too  deep,  or  it 
might  have  been  purposely  done  for  the  more  firmly  grasping  it  when 
in  use.  That  the  celt,  of  which  you  receive  a  drawing  as  above,  was 
ever  used  as  the  head  of  a  spear,  javelin,  or  otherwise,  is  impossible, 
as  no  stricture  or  bandage,  however  put  on,  would  be  adequate  to 
fixing  or  retaining  it ;  its  tapering  narrowness  being  an  invincible  bar 
to  its  keeping  and  preserving  a  situation  of  this  nature.  I  further 
observe  on  the  stone,  from  the  figures  4  to  4,  the  extreme  sharp  edge 
has  been  taken  down  by  rasping  or  grinding  to  the  thickness  of  2-8ths 
of  an  inch,  and  rounded  off,  which  appears  to  me  another  strong 
corroborating  proof.  The  weight  of  this  stone  is  17  ounces 
avoirdupois.  Yours,  etc.         J.  Laskey. 

[1805,  Part  II.,  p.  696.] 

Celts,  and  other  reliques  of  "elder  days,"  have  been  lately  dug 
up  near  Clayton  Windmill,  on  the  South  Downs,  County  Sussex, 
a  little  to  the  left  of  the  London  road  (through  Cuckfield)  to 
Brighton.  William  Hamper. 

[1823,  Part  II.,  p.  169.] 

A  remarkable  specimen  of  a  flint  celt  or  battle-axe,  both  for  its 
beauty  and  size,  was  found  on  the  3rd  of  May  last,  on  the  property 
of  James  Nairne,  Esquire,  of  Claremont,  near  St.  Andrews.  It  lay 
towards  the  bottom  of  a  pretty  steep  bank,  2  feet  below  the  surface. 
Its  substance  is  of  flint,  of  a  grey  or  dove-colour.  Its  length  1  foot. 
Its  greatest  breadth  is  3  inches,  at  the  middle  2y\  inches,  and  its 
least  breadth  1^*^  inch.  Its  greatest  thickness  is  ly^  inch ;  and  its 
weight  is  about  i  lb.  14  oz.  Its  larger  end  is  brought  to  a  sharp 
edge,  and  the  smaller  end,  though  rounded,  is  considerably  more 
blunt* 

[1829, /'ar///.,  A  455.] 

As  workmen  were  making  alterations  in  the  house  lately  occupied 
by  Mr.  Alderman  Hearn,  in  High  Ousegate,  York,  they  found  an 
implement  of  polished  bone,  in  form  somewhat  resembling  a  spear  or 
arrow-head,  about  3  inches  in  length ;  and  also  two  other  polished 
bones,  about  8  inches  long,  made  into  the  form  of  a  skate,  and 
turned  up  at  the  end.  At  the  thicker  end  of  these  bones  is  a  hole 
perforated,  and  the  end  is  formed  as  if  to  receive  a  cord  or  wire  to 
attach  it  to  some  other  apparatus.  In  digging  for  the  foundation  of 
the  new  houses  erected  in  Davygate,  on  the  ancient  site  of  Davy 
Hall,  several  pins  were  found  which  were  made  of  polished  bone, 
together  with  other  implements. 
*  It  is  described  and  figured  in  i\\Q  Ediiibtirgh Philosophical Jonrnal,l^o.  XVII. 


Stone  and  Flint  Implements.  65 

[1862,  /'a;-//.,/.  335.] 

The  workmen  recently  employed  in  erecting  the  telegraph  wires  by 
the  sides  of  the  Malton  and  Drififield  Railway,  which  crosses  the 
Yorkshire  Wolds,  in  making  the  post-holes,  found  several  articles  of 
flint,  which  from  their  descriptions  are  presumed  to  be  weapons, 
probably  arrow-heads.  These  implements  having  no  value  in  the 
estimation  of  the  workmen,  have  been  nearly  all  re-interred,  but  local 
antiquaries  are  now  interesting  themselves  in  the  preservation  of  any- 
thing of  the  kind  that  may  in  future  be  met  with.  The  Wold  dis- 
trict has  many  ancient  intrenchments  and  other  evidences  of  early 
occupation,  of  which  particulars  have  heretofore  been  given  in  our 
pages.  * 

[1S63, /'<r;-//,/.  358.] 

I  beg  to  send  you  a  sketch  of  a  flint  arrow-head,  drawn  by  Major 
Thompson,  which  has  recently  been  ploughed  up  in  Northumber- 
land. The  short  account  of  it  was  added  by  the  same  gentleman  : 
the  original  is  in  the  possession  of  William  Gray,  Esq.  I  am 
informed  that  this  is  the  first  time  that  such  an  arrow-head  has  been 
discovered  in  Northumberland,  although  in  many  districts  of  Eng- 
land the  sort  is  not  uncommon. 

I  am,  etc.         John  Hogg. 

The  side  represented  by  Fig.  i  is  more  smoothly  and  perfectly 
finished  than  the  other  side.  Fig.  2  ;  the  drawings  are  the  actual  size. 
It  was  found  on  newly  ploughed  moorland  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  Aln  (Northumberland),  on  the  estate  of  William  Gray,  Esq., 
of  East  Bolton. 

[1863,  Part  I^p.dfiz.'l 

In  your  March  number  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hogg,  of  Norton,  in 
which  he  gives  an  account  and  a  drawing  of  a  flint  arrow-head  found 
at  East  Bolton,  near  Alnwick.  He  mentions  also  that  he  has  been 
informed  that  it  is  the  first  time  such  an  arrow-head  has  been  found 
in  Northumberland.  In  this  he  has  been  misinformed  ;  many  such 
have  occurred  from  time  to  time.  I  have  in  my  own  possession 
three,  similarly  shaped,  found  at  Hauxley,  and  one  found  near  Kyloe. 
In  Raine's  "North  Durham,"  p.  218,  one  is  figured,  found  on 
Ancroft  Moor ;  and  I  know  of  two  found  near  Copeland  Castle, 
another  near  Norham,  and  I  have  seen  others  found  in  Northumber- 
land, but  my  memory  does  not  serve  me  to  name  the  localities. 

I  am,  etc.         W.  Greenwell. 

[1863,  Part  II.,  pp.  So,  81.] 

I  have  now  in  my  possession  a  stone  which  was  dug  out  of  a  Celtic 
enclosure  in  the  vicinity  of  Castleton,  and  close  to  the  tumulus  known 

*  See  especially  a  paper  on  "Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors,"  Gentkinaii's 
Magazine,  May,  1861,  p.  498,  et  seq.     [See  note  6.] 

VOL.  V.  5 


66  Early  Historic  Remains. 

from  time  immemorial  by  the  name  of  Gallow-Houe.*  When  this 
stone  was  found  there  was  another  with  it,  which  was  such  as  at  once 
to  suggest  the  purpose  for  which  the  two  were  intended. 

The  one  I  have  is  a  block  of  an  extremely  hard  sandstone,  called 
Crowstone  by  Professor  Phillips,  and  White  Flint  in  this  moorland 
district,  in  which  only,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  it  is  known  to  occur. 
The  dimensions  of  the  block  are  21  inches  by  11^  inches,  and  5f 
inches  thick,  and  the  whole  upper  surface  is  hollowed  out  to  the 
depth  of  nearly  li  inch  in  the  middle,  with  an  even  curve  from  end 
to  end  and  side  to  side.  The  other  stone,  which  was  found  with  it,  but 
has  since  been,  as  I  fear,  irretrievably  lost,  was  a  rubber  or  muller, 
formed  of  the  same  material,  in  shape  and  size  something  like  a 
mason's  "  mell  "  of  medium  dimensions,  with  a  handle,  all  of  a  piece 
with  the  rest,  admitting  the  grasp  of  both  hands.  It  seems  scarcely 
possible  to  doubt  that  these  stones  must  have  been  used  for  the 
jDurpose  of  pounding  or  bruising  either  roots  or  corn.  Indeed,  the 
form  of  the  trough  is  such  as  to  remind  a  person  conversant  with 
north  country  usages  and  utensils  belonging  to  an  age  now  rapidly 
passing  away,  of  the  means  adopted  for  "  creeing,"  or  husking,  the 
wheat  intended  to  be  used  in  making  furmenty. 

I  do  not  remember  any  notice  of  any  similar  antiquity,  nor  any 
means,  consequently,  of  ascertaining  if  they  were  in  use  before,  or 
contemporaneously  with,  the  quern. 

I  am,  etc.         J.  C.  Atkinson. 

A  Celtic   Flint-Implement  Factory. 

[1863,  Part  I.,  pp.  490,  491.] 

On  Wednesday,  February  i8th,  I  was  crossing  a  part  of  the  Danby 
North  ]\Ioors,  not  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  yards  distant  from 
"Siss  Cross,"  when  I  observed  a  fragment  of  flint  lying  on  the  track 
at  my  feet.  As  I  have  observed  in  a  former  communication,  flint  on 
any  part  of  these  moors  is  of  very  rare  occurrence,  and  even  in  the 
grave-hills  themselves  singularly  scarce.  I  directed  my  companion's 
attention  to  the  piece  I  had  observed,  and  requested  him  to  look  for 
more.  It  was  raining  too  fast  to  permit  us  to  stay  long,  but  in  the 
course  of  five  minutes  we  had  gathered  from  thirty  to  forty  pieces. 
The  character  of  most  of  these  was  clear  at  the  first  glance  :  they 
had  been  chipped  by  human  hands,  and  with  an  evident  purpose. 
I  took  means  to  have  the  place  well  examined  in  the  course  of  the 
subsequent  day,  and  the  result  was  that  splinters  and  fragments  of 
flint,  sufficient  in  quantity  to  half  fill  a  fair-sized  fishing-basket,  were 
brought  to  me.  Some  of  them  were  the  merest  flakes,  or  almost 
spiculse,  like  a  child's   finger-nail  or  the  point  of  a  not  very  large 

*  Gentleman's  Magazine,  January,  1863,  p.  23,  note.     [See  Note  7.] 


Sto7ie  and  Flint  Implements.  67 

three-cornered  needle  :  others  were  portions  of  flint  pebbles,  varying 
in  size  from  an  inch  either  way  to  lumps  presenting  a  surface  of  two 
or  three  inches  square.  But  a  very  large  number  showed  clear  tokens 
of  the  purpose  for  which  they  had  been  intended.  Some  were  an 
inch  or  two  long,  with  a  flat  under-surface  of  nearly  half  an  inch 
broad,  and  a  much  narrower  parallel  back,  the  diminution  of  width 
being  consequent  on  the  removal  of  prismatic  flakes  on  either  side, 
so  as  to  form  two  sharp  edges  along  the  whole  length  of  the  implement. 
In  fact,  they  were  probably  intended  to  form  saws  ;  and  not  a  few  of 
them  are  so  far  finely  notched  that  their  action  on  an  ivory  paper-knife 
is  very  effective.  Others,  again,  in  addition  to  the  lateral  sloping 
planes,  have  similar  planes  at  either  end,  so  as  to  present  four  cutting 
edges  :  these  are  shorter  than  those  first  named.  Besides,  numerous 
instances  occur  in  which  curvilinear  edges  of  various  lengths  are  the 
distinguishing  feature.  A  few  of  the  longer  and  thicker  pieces,  which 
have  been  wrought  into  a  definite  form,  suggest  the  possibility  that  they 
have  had  their  own  especial  purpose  :  they  all  have  one  end  which 
looks  as  if  it  had  been  applied  to  strike  many  blows  with  on  other 
portions  of  like  material. 

There  is,  however,  one  characteristic  which  runs  through  the  whole 
collection  of  wrought  pieces,  and  that  is  that  they  are  defective  in  one 
or  more  points  ;  perhaps  in  form — for  instance,  curvilinear  instead  of 
straight;  or  the  edge  has  flaws  or  projections,  or  they  are  broken  across, 
and  the  like. 

There  seems  to  be  but  one  explanation  which  will  embrace  all  the 
facts,  and  that  is  that  this  is  the  site  of  a  Celtic  flint-implement  manu- 
factory. There  is  the  material,  spare  or  waste ;  the  countless  flakes, 
and  spangles,  and  spiculse  produced  in  the  course  of  work  ;  the  many 
failures  and  imperfect  instruments  (almost  inevitable  in  the  practice  of 
such  a  craft)  rejected  and  thrown  aside  as  useless ;  and  there  are  the 
hammers  used  by  the  workmen,  and  some  of  the  material  roughly 
prepared  for  further  and  more  careful  manipulation.  The  whole  seems 
to  me  remarkably  interesting. 

By  a  somewhat  curious  coincidence,  within  a  day  or  two  of  my  own 
discovery,  I  had  inclosed  to  me  in  a  note  from  a  neighbour  a  flint 
fragment  very  similar  in  character  to  some  of  those  I  had  myself 
found,  and  with  it  the  information  that  it  was  one  of  a  great  number 
which  had  been  picked  up  in  some  enclosures  lying  about  seven  or 
eight  miles  to  the  north-east  of  this  place.  From  other  matters 
mentioned  in  the  note  I  was  inclined  to  suppose  that  the  site  of 
another  manufactory  had  been  ploughed  over,  a  supposition  which 
I  found  had  been  entertained  by  others  in  possession  of  the  circum- 
stances. Personal  examination  of  the  locality,  however,  has  led  me 
at  least  to  suspend  such  a  conclusion,  for  I  find  the  flints  (not  a  few 
of  them  of  a  much  more  perfect  character  than  any  found  by  me 
here)  dispersed  over  a  very  considerable  area,  and  very  thick  in  no 

5—2 


68  Early  Historic  Remains. 

part  of  it,  as  far  as  my  investigations  yet  extend.  At  the  same  time 
I  should  say  I  had  not  sufficient  time  to  examine  the  ground 
thoroughly,  nor  to  inquire  of  the  former  occupant  of  the  farm  if  he 
had  ever  found  any  considerable  accumulation  in  one  place.  But 
the  uniform  dispersion  of  the  flints,  and  their  character — saws,  small 
cutting  implements  or  knives,  thumb-flints,  and  one  very  perfect  leaf- 
shaped  arrow-head  (beside  other  ruder  ones) — lead  me  rather  to  con- 
clude that  they  had  belonged  to  a  numerous  community  anciently 
inhabiting  the  district,  and  had  been  lost,  discarded,  or  left  behind 
by  them.  I  should  imagine  from  what  I  saw  that  when  the  land 
{much  of  it,  if  not  all,  apparently  inclosed  from  the  moor  at  no  very 
distant  period)  was  in  process  of  careful  tillage  for  a  "  green  crop," 
a  very  large  quantity  of  these  flint  relics  of  the  remote  past  might 
be  recovered. 

Is  it  not  possible  that  the  use  of  the  so-called  "  thumb-flint  "  may 
have  been  in  chipping  other  flints  into  shape  ?  The  thicker  edge  in 
all  that  have  come  into  my  hands  seems  to  have  been  notched  or 
chipped  quite  as  much  by  striking  against  other  pieces  as  by  being 
struck  by  them.  I  am,  etc.  J.  C.  Atkinson. 

[1863, /'.?;-//,//.  764,  765.] 

In  my  communication  of  February  2Sth*  I  gave  some  details 
descriptive  of  a  supposed  site  of  a  Celtic  flint-implement  manu- 
factory. A  short  time  after  it  was  written  I  discovered  a  second  site 
of  a  somewhat  similar  character  at  a  distance  of  not  less  than  two 
miles  south-east  from  the  former.  In  this  instance,  again,  the  flint 
flakes  and  implements  were  found  lying  thickly  together  in  a  very 
limited  space,  possibly  of  some  6  or  8  feet  square.  As  compared 
with  the  former  specimens,  there  were  fewer  refuse  pieces,  very  few 
small  flakes  or  chippings,  no  (supposed)  hammers,  and  the  so-called 
knives  and  saws  were  larger,  less  imperfect,  or  less  manifestly  failures, 
or  broken  in  the  making,  than  in  the  first  find.  Thus,  in  a  selection 
of  eighty  to  a  hundred  now  before  me,  I  find  a  few  which  might 
almost  be  regarded  as  fully  serviceable  ;  several  of  2  or  3  inches 
in  length,  with  cutting  edges  on  one  or  both  sides  ;  one  or  two  of  a 
miniature  axe-shape  ;  one  or  two  others  that  might  have  done  duty 
as  arrow-heads  ;  and  the  majority  of  the  rest,  portions  of  the  knife 
or  saw-shaped  variety.  This  deposit,  moreover,  like  the  last,  had 
its  resting-place  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  black  or  moory  surface- 
soil,  scarcely  one  specimen  in  twenty  being  found  in  actual  contact 
with  the  yellow  sand  of  the  subsoil. 

I  have  also  paid  a  further  visit  to  Newton  Mulgrave,  in  the  course 
of  which  I  failed  to  ascertain  that  any  similar  hoards  or  accumula- 
tions of  flints  have  been  met  with  there.  My  own  conclusion  is 
that  certainly  none  have  been  observed  so  far.  At  the  same  time, 
*  Gcntleiiiaii s  Magazine,  April,  1863,  p.  490  {ante,  p.  66], 


StoJie  and  Flint  Implements.  69 

very  considerable  numbers  of  wrought  flints  are  continually  turned 
up  in  course  of  working  the  land  for  agricultural  purposes.  I  picked 
up  two  fair  thumb-flints  in  a  field  in  which  a  man  was  at  plough, 
both  of  which  had  been  turned  up  within  half  an  hour ;  and,  at  a 
farm-house  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  this  field,  I  saw  and  ex- 
amined a  considerable  collection  which  had  been  picked  up  within 
the  last  year  or  two.  Among  these  were  some  specimens  of  great 
beauty,  and  most  wonderfully  chipped.  The  three  most  conspicuous 
objects  in  the  collection  were  a  full-sized  barbed  javelin  head  of  white 
flint,  nearly  perfect ;  a  large  knife  4  or  5  inches  long ;  and  a  large 
"  thumb-flint."*  The  latter  was  3  or  3^  inches  in  diameter,  and  very 
carefully  chipped.  A  second  thumb-flint,  of  about  the  average 
dimensions,  was  chipped  with  such  extreme  care  and  delicacy  that 
the  rounded  edge  almost  ceased  to  be  indented  or  notched,  and  a 
very  little  grinding  would  have  rendered  it  quite  smooth.  There  were, 
besides,  twelve  or  fourteen  arrow-heads  of  four  distinct  types,  which 
I  may  designate  as  barbed,  leaf-shaped,  pointed  ditto,  and  lance- 
shaped.  The  shape  of  the  latter  may  be  conceived  from  imagining 
two  isosceles  triangles  described  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  same 
base,  the  sides  of  the  point  end  being  twice  the  length  (or  more)  of 
those  of  the  other.  These,  with  two  or  three  of  the  leaf-shaped 
points,  were  wonderfully  made,  their  edges  being  chipped  singularly 
fine  and  sharp  and  true,  while  the  greatest  thickness  of  the  arrow 
seemed  scarcely  to  exceed  that  of  a  not  very  new  sixpence.  Even 
if  from  at  least  one  of  the  grave-hills  in  the  neighbourhood,  evidences 
had  not  been  obtained  of  the  possession  of  metal  by  the  Celtic 
occupants  of  this  district,  it  would  seem  almost  impossible  to  suppose 
that  such  extreme  delicacy  and  nicety  in  dealing  with  such  a  substance 
as  flint  could  have  been  attained  without  the  aid  of  metal  \  which  is, 
I  believe,  the  hypothesis  advanced  by  Professor  Worsaae  in  describing 
the  more  perfectly  wrought  flints  found  in  the  grave-hills  in  juxta- 
position with  implements  and  weapons  of  bronze.  Certainly  the 
contrast  between  the  flints  of  the  Danby  Moors,  in  no  one  of  the 
many  houes  on  which,  hitherto  examined,  any  trace  of  metal  has  so 
far  been  found,  and  those  of  Newton  Mulgrave  and  Roxby,  where 
the  converse  is  true,  is  about  as  great  as  one  can  well  imagine  ;  many 
of  the  latter  being  most  elaborately  and  accurately  wrought,  while  the 
former  seem  to  owe  their  shape  to  the  simplest  practical  knowledge 
of  the  laws  regulating  the  cleavage  of  the  flint. 

I  am,  etc.         J.  C.  Atkinson. 

*  I  see  that  Professor  Worsaae,  in  his  paper  Om  Tvedelingen  af  Steenaldereii, 
gives  engravings  of  two  flints,  which  here  would  be  called  "  thumb-flints,"  and 
designates  them  Skeeformede  Ski-abei-e.  It  is  certainly  not  impossible  that  they 
may  have  had  some  such  use  as  that  implied  in  the  said  name,  nor  that  that  use 
should  have  been  in  connection  with  the  preparation  of  the  skins  of  animals  for 
use.  Scraping-irons  with  circular  edges,  only  of  much  greater  diameter  than  the 
thumb-flints,  are,  I  believe,  daily  in  use  for  such  purpose  still. 


Jo  Early  Historic  Remains. 

[1857,  Part  IL,  pp.  446,  447.] 

An  opportunity  was  afforded  on  the  5th  and  6th  of  August  last,  by 
an  exhibition  of  objects  of  archaeological  interest,  held  in  the  Hospi- 
tium,  at  the  Museum  Gardens,  York,  to  test  the  accuracy  of  various 
opinions  entertained  on  the  subject  of  British  antiquities.  On  that  occa- 
sion a  large  number  of  flint  weapons  were  shown  by  Messrs.  Tindall, 
of  Bridlington ;  Pycock,  of  Malton  ;  J.  Ruddock,  of  Whitby,  and 
others.  And  as  we  have  taken  some  interest,  and  spent  some  time,  in 
elucidating  the  truth  of  the  matter,  we  shall  give  the  result  of  our  in- 
quiries as  obtained  by  an  examination  of  the  exhibition,  assisted  by 
some  other  advantages  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  possess.  In  the 
first  case  we  noticed  a  sketch  of  a  British  cup,  with  four  feet,  found 
near  Pickering,  which  is  the  only  one  of  the  kind  yet  known ;  also  a 
bowl-shaped  cup,  found  in  a  Saxon  tumulus,  opened  at  Thirsk,  for  the 
York  Antiquarian  Society,  by  permission  of  Lady  Frankland.  These, 
with  a  small  collection  of  arrows  and  spears,  found  in  the  north-east 
of  Yorkshire,  were  contributed  by  Mr.  J.  Ruddock,  who  has  had, 
probably,  more  experience  than  any  other  individual,  having  opened 
not  less  than  three  hundred  tumuli.  A  small  but  very  good  selection 
of  arrows,  by  Mr.  Pycock,  of  Malton  ;  they  were  well  defined,  and  of 
undoubted  character.  In  the  same  case  we  noticed  a  collection  from 
various  parts  of  Yorkshire,  particularly  near  Whitby.  Two  cards 
from  Billerey  Dale,  the  scene  of  many  forgeries,  were  collected  by 
Mr.  J.  Coultas,  a  farmer  of  seventy,  who  never  among  the  hundreds 
he  found  saw  one  of  the  jagged  arrows  which  have  been  made  so 
lately.  In  the  same  case  were  a  celt  of  most  unique  form,  and  half  of 
another,  from  Mr.  Bainbridge,  of  York.  They  were  found  at  Ayton, 
in  Cleveland.  The  Bridlington  collection  was  most  extensive — in 
fact,  it  was  swelled  out  by  the  admission  of  hundreds  of  flints,  which, 
although  bearing  marks  of  having  been  wrought,  are  yet  of  no 
clearly-defined  stamp  ;  they  add  to  the  bulk,  but  do  not  increase  the 
value,  of  the  collection,  any  more  than  if  there  had  only  been  a 
dozen.  On  card  18  there  were  some  good  arrows;  there  are  some 
marked  Irish,  which  we  feel  some  doubt  about ;  among  them  is  one 
unmistakable  "  Bones."  From  the  same  source  is  a  card  of  drills, 
No.  28,  and  one  of  hooks,  No.  30.  Card  12  contained  one  admitted, 
and  several  other  palpable,  forgeries;  No.  13,  adjoining,  has  two 
arrows,  found  by  Mr.  Tindall  and  Mr.  Barugh,  good, — most,  if  not  all 
the  rest,  were  spurious.  Card  34  had  one  arrow  by  "  Bones,"  as  this 
knave  is  called  by  Whitby.  In  the  East  Riding  he  is  known  as  "  Jack 
Flint,"  and  in  North-West  Yorkshire  he  is  known  as  "  Shirtless." 
He  has  wonderfully  improved  since  he  took  to  the  trade,  as  might 
be  seen  by  examining  the  curious  specimens  of  forgeries  gathered 
together  here  from  various  parts  of  the  country,  by  Mr.  Ruddock,  for 
the  purpose  of  exposing  the  nefarious  traffic.    There  was  a  card  dated 


Stone  and  Flint  Implements.  71 

1852,  rude,  compared  to  his  latter  work ;  yet  the  style  is  the  same,  if 
not  so  finished.  There  was  a  stone  hammer  or  hatchet  in  Mr. 
Tindall's  lot,  and  there  was  the  sister  to  it  among  the  forgeries,  the 
precise  form,  size — even  the  material  is  the  same.  The  latter,  and 
another  of  the  like  kind,  were  lent  by  a  gentleman  of  York,  who  had 
been  do7ie.  Mr.  Tindall  had  fourteen  celts;  several  were  described  as 
Irish.  No.  6  looked  suspicious  ;  if  we  compared  it  with  the  forgeries, 
our  doubts  would  increase.  The  large  blue  celt  was  made  for  2s.  6^., 
beautiful  hammers  for  55.  each,  and  some  arrows  and  spears,  whose 
history  and  place  of  manufacture  are  Avell  known,  have  been  sold  for 
\s.  each.  Some  of  those,  except  to  an  experienced  eye,  were  difficult 
to  detect,  and  were  of  greater  likelihood  than  the  Bridlington  collec- 
tion. Mr.  Earugh,  an  extensive  occupier  of  land  near  the  above  place, 
has  searched  for  days  together,  and  has  instructed  his  servants  to  look 
over  his  fields,  100  acres  in  extent ;  and  although  he  had  at  one  time 
sixty  flints,  mostly  of  the  undefined  kind,  yet  he  met  in  all  his  explo- 
rations very  few  arrows  or  spears,  and  only  one  barbed  arrow.  All  Mr. 
Barugh  found  went  into  Mr.  Tindall's  collection  some  time  ago. 
Several  of  them  were  pointed  out  to  us  by  that  gentleman,  who  after- 
wards presented  to  the  York  museum  thirty,  which  he  had  purchased 
before  he  knew  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  genuine  specimens. — From 
a  Corresponderit  of  the  ''■  Malton  Messenger^'  Aug.  15,  1857. 

[1S15,  Part  I.,  pp.  209,  210.] 

The  two  stones,  a  and  b,  wrought  and  formed  for  some  particular 
use,  of  which  a  rough  sketch  is  given,  were  lately  found  at  Garthorpe, 
County  Leicester,  upon  a  bed  of  gravel,  six  or  seven  feet  below  the 
surface. 

It  is  requested  of  your  correspondents  to  explain  their  use — in 
what  age — or  whether  commonly  found,  or  scarce.  For  the  present, 
let  them  be  called  a  "  hand-mill."  The  nether  millstone,  «-,  is  not 
much  unlike  a  platter,  or  large  shallow  dish,  with  a  shelved-ofif  edge  ; 
in  some  places  chipped  ;  in  others,  broke  down.  The  bottom  is  not 
quite  flat,  but  gently  rises  to  the  centre  (like  a  fish-plate),  which  is  per- 
forated, apparently  for  the  purpose  of  a  spindle.  Weight,  31  pounds  ; 
diameter,  16  inches. 

The  upper  millstone,  b,  resembling  in  shape  the  bottom  part  of  a 
cone  or  sugar-loaf,  is  extremely  perfect,  and  was  found  in  its  proper 
place  upon  the  other,  which  it  exactly  fits.  At  the  top,  c,  is  an  aper- 
ture or  "  hopper,"  5  inches  in  diameter,  contracting  as  it  descends, 
and  may  hold  three  pints.  Greatest  diameter,  12  inches  ;  least,  7  ; 
and  perpendicular  height,  6  inches  ;  weight,  33  pounds.  Near  about 
the  situation  of  d,  is  a  square  hole,  which  communicates  with  the 
bottom  of  the  "  hopper,"  or  that  in  the  centre,  where  there  is  a  bed 
cut,  evidently  for  a  frame  of  iron-work,  which  may  have  perished  ; 
and,  by  the  wearing  down  on  that  side  by  natural  pressure,  we  may  be 


72  Early  Historic  Remains. 

somewhat  countenanced  in  an  opinion  of  the  handle  having  been 
fixed  there.  The  stone  (not  met  with  in  this  country)  is  of  a  dirty 
white  coarse  grit,  and  may  be  taken  for  a  rough  composition  of  sand 
and  mortar ;  and  though  it  has  not  the  least  resemblance  to  mill- 
stones now  in  use,  yet  appears  not  ill  calculated  for  the  grinding 
of  corn. 

Yours,  etc.         W.  Mounsey. 

[1838,  Part  IL,  p.  536.] 

On  breaking  up  some  common-land  in  Barkisland,  in  the  parish  of 
Halifax,  a  conoidical  mass  of  stone  was  lately  discovered,  which 
proved  to  be  the  upper  portion  of  a  hand-mill  or  querne,  such  as 
was  in  use  by  our  forefathers,  This  stone  is  now  in  my  possession. 
It  resembles  the  lower  section  of  a  cone.  The  diameter  of  the  base 
is  13  inches,  and  that  of  the  upper  part  about  7  inches,  and  its 
perpendicular  height  not  more  than  1 1  inches.  The  apex  is  hollowed 
out  in  the  form  of  a  cup ;  at  the  bottom  of  which  there  is  an 
aperture,  and  a  communication  continued  through  the  centre  of  the 
stone.  There  is  also  another  small  aperture  on  the  side  of  the 
stone,  which  communicates  with  the  central  perforation,  intended, 
probably,  for  the  insertion  of  some  iron-work  to  turn  the  stone  :  if  so, 
no  such  remain  was  found,  though  it  may  have  originally  existed. 
Similar  to  this,  another  has  been  found  near  the  line  of  the  Roman 
road ;  but  in  neither  instance  wns  the  lower  half  of  the  querne 
brought  away  ;  but  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  destroyed  in 
one  case,  or  made  use  of  for  other  purposes.  Millstones  of  this 
description  have  been  found  among  the  ruins  of  Roman  stations  : 
indeed,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  the  most  common 
mode  of  grinding  the  corn  with  other  nations.  With  the  Jews,  the 
upper  millstone,  which  rides  upon  the  lower,  was  called  Receb  (q.  d. 
the  rider),  occurs  Deut.  xxiv.  6,  Jud,  ix.  53,  2  Sam.  xi.  21  (Vide 
Parkhurst's  Hebrew  Lexicon). 

In  Niebuhr's  "Voyage  en  Arabia,"  tom.  i,  p.  122,  plate  xvii.,  fig.  A, 
the  reader  may  find  a  representation  of  one  of  these  hand-mills,  as 
still  used  in  Egypt,  with  the  surface  of  the  lower  millstone  convex, 
and  the  upper  millstone  furnished  with  a  peg  or  pin ;  and  the  same, 
in  use  in  Barbary,  is  described  by  Dr.  Shaw  in  his  "  Travels,"  p.  131. 

This  custom,  indeed,  of  each  family  having  millstones  to  grind 
their  own  corn,  serves  to  illustrate  the  Law,  Deut.  xxiv.  6,  with  the 
emphatic  reason  of  it.  It  seems  that  the  Law,  prohibiting  to  take 
the  millstone  to  pledge,  particularly  refers  to  the  upper  portion  of  it, 
or  the  £-ri/ji,{jxiov,  which  corresponds  with  those  discoveries  to  which  I 
am  now  drawing  the  attention  of  your  readers,  probably  because  that 
part  lying  loose  might  be  more  readily  taken  off  and  carried  away. 
With  respect  to  the  quality  of  the  stone,  one  consists  of  a  very  coarse 
grit,  the  other  of  more  compact  sandstone. 

J.  K.  Walker,  IM.D. 


Bronze  Implements.  y^) 

Bronze     Implements. 

[1825,  Pari  I/.,  p.  174.] 

A  labourer  lately  employed  in  digging  flints  near  Hollingbury 
Castle  (the  ancient  earthwork  or  camp  on  the  summit  of  the  hill 
between  Brighton  and  Stanmer),  discovered  an  interesting  group  of 
antiquities,  placed  very  superficially  in  a  slight  excavation  on  the 
chalk  rock.  It  consisted  of  a  brass  instrument,  called  a  celt ;  a 
nearly  circular  ornament,  spirally  fluted,  and  having  two  rings  placed 
loosely  on  the  extremities,  and  four  artnilhv,  or  bracelets  for  the 
wrist,  of  a  very  peculiar  shape.  All  these  ornaments  are  composed 
of  a  metallic  substance,  which,  from  the  appearance  of  those  parts 
where  the  green  patina  with  which  they  are  encrusted  has  been 
removed,  must  have  originally  possessed  a  lustre  but  little  inferior 
to  burnished  gold. 


C)^ 


[1826,  Part  /.,  /.  497.] 

The  ancient  s\vord  (fig.  2)  was  found  more  than  forty  years  ago, 
in  cleansing  part  of  the  River  Lark  between  Bury  St.  Edmund's  and 
Mildenhall,  in  Suffolk,  and  is  in  the  possession  of  Sir  Thomas  Gery 
Cullum,  Bart.     It  is  2  feet  in  length,  wanting  \  an  inch. 

We  have  been  kindly  informed  by  the  great  oracle  in  these  matters, 
Dr.  Meyrick,  that  it  is  an  ancient  British  sword,  termed  "  Cleddyv." 
It  is  formed  of  a  composition  of  copper  and  tin,  a  fact  that  enables 
us  to  assign  it  to  the  Britons,  for  the  Roman  swords  and  those  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  at  the  period  of  their  respective 
invasions  were  of  steel.  The  old  Welsh  adage,  "  He  who  has  the 
horn  (meaning  the  handle)  has  the  blade,"  shows  us  of  what  material 
the  hilt  was  originally  made,  and  the  three  pins  seen  in  the  engraving 
explain  in  what  mode  the  two  pieces  were  fastened,  one  on  each  side. 

[1830, /'a;-///.,/.  65.] 

On  the  1 6th  of  June,  as  some  labourers  were  digging  on  the 
common  between  Fulbourn  and  Wilbraham,  Cambridgeshire,  they 
discovered  a  bronze  battle-axe,  or  spear-head,  in  a  fine  state  of 
preservation.  Some  human  bones  were  likewise  found,  and  several 
iron  links,  much  corroded,  near  the  spot.  The  bronze  weapon  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  W.  Hancock,  of  Fulbourn. — Some  few 
years  since  several  ancient  warlike  instruments  were  found  near  the 
same  spot ;  drawings  of  them  were  taken  by  the  late  Rev.  T. 
Kerrich,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  and  an  account  of  them  was  written  by  the 
late  E.  D.  Clark,  LL.D.,  and  published  in  the  Archasologia,  vol.  xix., 
p.  46 ;  there  were  five  in  number,  and  all  of  them  consisted  of 
bronze,  namely,  two  swords,  a  spear-head,  and  two  forrules.  In  the 
year  181 9,  as  some  labourers  were  trenching  up  a  yard  upon  the 


74  Early  Historic  Remains. 

estate  of  Mr.  Fromont,  of  Fulbourn,  they  discovered  an  earthen 
pitcher  surrounded  and  covered  with  bricks  in  a  very  careful  manner. 
It  was  given  to  the  late  Rev.  R.  Fisher,  the  rector  of  Fulbourn. 
The  "  Fleam  Dyke,"  beginning  at  Balsham,  and  ending  at  Fen 
Ditton,  runs  contiguous  to  the  place  of  these  discoveries. 

\iZzs,  Part  I.,  p.  528.] 

A  curious  sword  was  lately  found  at  Nockavrinnion,  parish  of 
Loughgeel,  in  the  county  of  Antrim.  It  was  discovered  beneath  three 
flags  of  black  stone  in  repairing  a  bank  of  the  river  Bush.  On  it,  as 
well  as  on  the  stones,  a  great  many  characters  are  inscribed.  This 
sword,  which  is  entirely  of  brass,  with  a  huge  handle,  measures  5  feet 
4f  inches  in  length,  and  3^^  inches  in  breadth,  tapering  to  a  point, 
much  after  the  fashion  of  a  dagger.  Its  weight,  together  wuth  two 
large  brass  buckles  found  with  it,  is  16  lb.  5  oz.  It  has  a  very  sharp 
edge,  is  remarkably  hard,  and  seems,  from  several  deep  indentations, 
both  on  the  back  and  edge,  to  have  been  well  tried. 

[1844,  /'ar/ /., /.  299.] 

There  have  lately  been  found,  under  the  bottom  of  a  deep  ditch  in 
Rayne,  in  Essex,  a  number  of  celts,  and  parts  of  spear-heads, 
in  bronze,  evidently  ancient  British,  together  with  a  quantity  of 
copper  ones ;  the  celts  (heads  of  a  sort  of  battle-axe)  are  of  various 
sizes,  and  all  more  or  less  injured,  and,  with  the  fragments  of  spear- 
heads, amounted  to  eighteen  in  number.  The  celts  had  originally 
all  been  cast  in  different  moulds.  Seven  of  them  are  to  be  deposited 
in  the  Walden  Museum :  the  others  remain  with  a  private  collector. 

[1846,  Part  II.,  p.  79.] 

On  the  5th  May,  a  workman,  digging  on  the  line  of  the  Leeds  and 
Dewsbury  Railway,  at  Churwell,  turned  up  nine  British  celts  or  axe- 
heads,  along  with  four  small  javelin-heads  ;  they  are  made  of  a 
mixture  of  brass  and  copper,  and  are  evidently  rough  from  the 
mould,  the  seam  of  the  casting  still  remaining.  The  axe-heads  are 
about  8  inches  in  length,  and  weigh  18  ounces  each. 

[1846,  Part  II.,  p.  226.] 

W.  T.  P.  S.  wTites,  "  A  bronze  celt  has  been  lately  found,  em- 
bedded in  clay,  on  the  Oxenham  estates.  South  Tawton,  about  nine- 
teen miles  from  Exeter.  It  is  without  loop,  and  has  the  grooves,  or 
places  in  the  upper  part,  for  inserting  two  pieces  of  wood,  as  a  handle 
or  haft,  lashed,  no  doubt,  with  cord  or  bandages.  At  Sittingbourne, 
Kent,  January,  1828,  four  celts  and  a  gouge  in  bronze,  or  bell  metal, 
were  found  in  an  urn.  Those  discovered  near  Attleborough,  Norfolk, 
were  in  company  also  with  gouges  and  other  implements  (see  C.  R. 
Smith's  "Collectanea,"  No.  7,  pp.  105,  106).     Hence  it  is  supposed 


Bf'onze  Inipleinents.  75 

they  were  workmen's  tools,  not  warlike  weapons.  France  and 
Germany  boast  of  these  <r/«V^/5  as  well  as  Britain.  A  remarkable  fact 
has  lately  come  to  light.  Mr.  Ralph  Sanders,  of  the  Exeter  Bank, 
in  whose  possession  is  the  Devon  celt  above  noticed,  informs  me 
that  he  has  a  spear  given  to  one  of  our  travellers  by  the  "  King  "  of 
Madagascar,  one  end  of  which  is  the  usual  lance  head  or  point, 
common  to  all  spears  ;  the  other  has  a  celt  fixed  on  each  side  in 
grooves,  identical  with  the  one  now  under  discussion,  and  with  which 
the  natives  of  that  island  used  to  flay,  skin,  or  deglubate  the  beasts 
killed  in  their  hunting  excursions.  Have  we  at  last  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  celt  as  a  cognate  instrument,  once  common  to  the 
great  family  of  mankind  ? 

[1826,  Part  IL,f.  259.] 

Lately  was  found,  turned  up  by  the  plough,  in  Sutton  Courtney 
field,  near  Abingdon,  a  curious  arrow-head,  that  belonged  to  ancient 
Britons.  It  is  chipped  out  of  flint,  and  cannot  fail  of  striking  the 
attention  of  every  curious  observer.  Also  was  found,  near  the  same 
place,  at  the  bottom  of  the  river  Isis  (where  it  was  fordable,  a  short 
space  below  the  new  bridge),  a  brass  instrument  belonging  to  the 
ancient  Britons,  called  a  celt ;  it  is  in  fine  preservation.  In  Feb- 
ruary last,  as  some  labourers  in  the  same  parish  were  excavating  for 
gravel,  they  discovered  about  3  feet  below  the  surface  a  quantity 
of  human  bones  much  decayed,  and  surrounded  by  a  dark  fine 
mould,  almost  like  ashes,  and  by  the  side  of  which  were  found,  stand- 
ing upright,  two  small  earthen  vessels,  filled  with  the  same  sort  of 
black  mould ;  one  of  them  appears  to  have  been  a  drinking  cup  ;  it 
is  marked  with  indented  strokes,  and  nearly  7  inches  in  height,  but 
unfortunately  a  part  of  the  top  was  broken  off  by  the  spade,  owing 
to  the  haste  of  the  labourers  at  its  discovery,  thinking  it  contained 
treasure  ;  the  other  was  of  a  different  make,  and  only  4  inches  in 
height ;  both  these  vessels  are  in  good  preservation,  considering  the 
length  of  time  they  must  have  been  placed  there.  It  can  scarcely  be 
doubted  by  the  manner  of  sculpture  that  the  deceased  were  either 
Britons  or  Romans ;  also  near  to  which  at  the  same  time  were  found 
five  different  sized  brass  Roman  fibulae,  and  also  a  large  brass  ring, 
and  near  it  were  some  fragments  of  iron,  so  much  corroded  by  time 
as  to  moulder  into  dust  when  touched  by  the  labourers  ;  it  is  con- 
jectured that  this  was  some  iron  instrument  or  weapon  of  war,  and 
that  it  was  suspended  by  the  brass  ring  to  the  body  of  the  defunct. 
Fortunately  for  the  admirers  of  antiquities,  the  whole  of  the  above 
really  curious  articles  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  J.  King,  of 
Appleford,  in  Berkshire,  a  gentleman  who  takes  great  delight  in 
preserving  such  rare  things,  and  they  are  placed  along  with  many 
others  in  his  excellent  private  collection  of  curiosities.  It  may  not 
be  amiss  to  state,  that  in  the  same  parish,  and  near  the  same  place, 


76  Early  Historic  Remains. 

a  few  years  ago,  a  little  below  the  surface,  were   found  many  frag- 
ments of  ancient  pottery. 

[1S57,  Part  I.,  p.  4S7,  488.] 

The  "  Banffshire  Journal"  describes  a  discovery  of  ancient  relics 
dug  up  at  CoUeonard.  The  jar  is  an  ancient  British  urn,  a  true 
representative  of  the  primitive  handiwork  of  our  forefathers,  made 
solely  by  the  hand  of  the  workman  at  a  time  when  the  potter's  wheel, 
though  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians,  had  not  extended  to  this 
remote,  and  then  barbarous,  part  of  the  earth.  The  urn  has  round 
the  neck  that  peculiar  herring-bone  ornament  common  on  urns  of 
the  British  period.  No  cinerary  remains  were  found  in  the  urn  ;  but 
its  contents  were  still  more  curious  than  the  jar  itself.  There  were 
found  in  it,  closely  packed  together,  no  fewer  than  seven  axe-blades 
in  bronze.  The  axe-blades  have  been  presented  to  the  Earl  of 
Seafield,  who  intends  to  place  two  in  the  Banff  museum. 


Fraudulent  Manufacture  of  Flint  Implements. 

[1857,  Prtr^ //.,/.  447.] 

A  correspondent  at  Ipswich  mentions  the  fact  of  flint  arrows  and 
spear-heads  being  manufactured  at  the  present  day  at  Brandon  ;  and 
states  that  a  person  has  been  travelling  with  specimens,  many  of  which 
he  has  succeeded  in  selling.  The  truth  is,  these  rogues  are  encour- 
aged and  emboldened  by  the  avidity  with  which  collectors  of  anti- 
quities buy  objects,  which  most  of  them  want  the  knowledge  to 
understand  and  the  experience  to  discriminate. 

[1863,  Part  II.,  pp.  68-70.] 

About  a  fortnight  ago  a  respectable  jeweller  in  this  city,  who 
purchases  for  me  such  coins  and  other  articles  of  archaeological 
interest  as  may  come  in  his  way,  informed  me  that  a  poor  labouring 
man  had  left  with  him  several  fine  specimens  of  flint  arrow-heads, 
which  he  said  had  been  found  in  a  barrow  about  8  miles  from 
Winchester.  On  seeing  them,  although  great  care  had  evidently 
been  taken  to  soil  them  and  make  them  look  old,  I  at  once  said  they 
were  modern.  As  the  price  for  the  whole  was  only  is.,  I  purchased 
them,  and  told  my  friend  the  jeweller  that  he  was  to  let  me  know  if 
any  more  were  offered  to  him. 

In  a  few  days  the  man  called  again  with  more  specimens,  and  was 
at  once  sent  up  to  me.  He  showed  me  about  eighteen  of  them,  and 
pressed  me  to  purchase  the  whole,  offering  them  at  is.  I  at  once 
challenged  him  with  the  disgraceful  act  of  selling  for  antiques  what 
he  knew  to  be  of  modern  manufacture.  For  a  time  the  man  denied 
the  charge  stoutly,  and  said,  "  Why,  sir,  you  can  see  for  yourself  what 


Fraudulent  Manufacture  of  Flint  Implements,   yy 

they  are."  "But  surely,"  said  I,  "you  cannot  suppose  that  I  can 
purchase  these  for  genuine  old  arrow-heads?  You  are  evidently 
acting  dishonestly,  or  have  been  imposed  upon  yourself." 

After  a  little  more  pressure  he  said,  "A  poor  man  must  live,  and 
nobody  with  any  knowledge  of  the  real  flint  weapon  can  be  taken  in 
with  these."  "Why,  then,"  said  I,  "did  you  offer  them  to  me?" 
"  If  you  remember,"  he  said,  "  I  did  not  say  what  they  were,  I  simply 
asked  you  to  buy  them  :"  and  such  was  the  case  ;  he  had  offered  them 
at  the  jeweller's  shop  as  antiques,  and  told  the  story  of  the  barrow  by 
way  of  proof,  but  with  me  he  was  more  wary. 

I  now  pressed  him  to  tell  me  all  about  them.  "Where  did  you  get 
them.  They  are  certainly  fine  specimens,"  said  I.  "  Did  you  make 
them  ?"  The  man  at  length  confessed  that  he  made  them  himself, 
and  said  that  for  a  small  consideration  he  would  show  me  the  "  art 
and  mystery."  Pulling  out  of  his  pocket  a  small  dirty  bag,  he  took 
from  it  a  common  carpenter's  awl,  and  the  hasp  which  goes  over  the 
staple  of  a  padlock,  and  then  taking  from  another  pocket  some  pieces 
of  flint,  he  sat  down,  and  holding  the  flint  dexterously  between  his 
thumb  and  finger,  and  resting  his  hand  upon  his  knee,  he  soon 
formed  a  beautiful  specimen,  exactly  similar  to  the  one  marked  4  on 
the  sketch.  The  awl  he  used  for  making  the  angles  at  the  base,  and 
rounding  the  barbs.  The  man's  skill  and  quickness  were  remarkable, 
being,  as  he  informed  me,  the  effect  of  several  years'  practice  in  this 
art.  I  ought  to  say  that  the  long  portion  of  the  hasp  formed  the 
handle,  and  the  circular  part  the  hammer  with  which  he  broke  the 
flints.  The  man  was  evidently  in  great  poverty,  and  probably  an  idle 
vagabond,  and  was  making  his  way  to  London,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  on  his  route  he  has  left  many  specimens  of  his  ingenuity. 
Probably  this  notice  and  the  sketch  subjoined  illustrative  of  the 
man's  art,  may  save  many  of  your  readers  from  a  gross  imposition, 

[See  Note  8.] 

I  am,  etc.         Charles  Collier,  M.A.,  F.S.A, 


Sepiilchral  Remains. 


yigUK!ijfrmy^fKV^>rA\^ii\vri^vjrKyvm.T}jn^\\jrAy>jm\^^ 


.<UiM\VJJ^^WJA.'S//M\^/f^\VJ^V^JJ^\'^JJf.KWJK\VJJ^.\^IM.y^l^^ 


SEPULCHRAL  REMAINS. 


On  some  Curious  Forms  of  Sepulchral  Interment  found 

in  East  Yorkshire. 

[1857,  Part  II., pp.  114-119.] 

IT  will  be  hardly  necessary  to  inform  even  the  most  general  reader 
that  the  only  intelligible  remains  of  the  earlier  inhabitants  of  our 
island  are  found  in  their  sepulchral  interments.  These,  it  is  true,  are 
often  very  indefinite,  and  are  not  easily  identified  by  themselves  with 
any  particular  race  of  people,  but  by  means  of  careful  observation  and 
of  patient  comparison  with  other  examples,  they  may  be  ultimately 
made  to  throw  some  light  upon  primaeval  history.  It  is  in  the  hope 
of  contributing  to  this  object  that  I  would  call  attention  to  a  very 
curious  class  of  sepulchral  chests,  or  coffins,  which  appear  to  me  quite 
novel,  and  which  seem  to  be  peculiar  to  East  Yorkshire. 

On  the  summit  of  the  high  cliffs  near  the  village  of  Gristhorpe, 
about  six  miles  from  Scarborough  and  fifteen  to  the  northward  of 
Bridlington,  are,  or  were,  three  ancient  tumuli.  That  in  the  centre, 
a  tolerably  large  one,  was  opened  on  the  loth  of  July,  1834,  and  was 
found  to  contain  what  was  at  first  taken  for  a  mere  rough  log  of  wood, 
but  on  further  examination  it  proved  to  be  a  wooden  coffin,  formed 
of  a  portion  of  the  rough  trunk  of  an  oak  tree,  the  external  bark  of 
which  was  still  in  good  preservation.  It  had  been  merely  hewn 
roughly  at  the  extremities,  split,  and  then  hollowed  internally  to 
receive  the  body.  The  accompanying  cut  (No.  i)  will  give  the  best 
notion  of  the  appearance  of  this  primitive  coffin,  which  was  much 
damaged  in  its  removal  from  the  tumulus.  The  trunk  of  the  tree  had 
been  split  tolerably  equally,  for  the  coffin  and  its  cover  were  of  nearly 
the  same  dimensions.  The  only  attempt  at  ornament  was  what  was 
taken  for  a  rude  figure  of  a  human  face  cut  in  the  bark  at  one  end  of 
the  lid,  which  appeared  to  have  been  held  to  the  coffin  only  by  the 
uneven  fracture  of  the  wood  corresponding  on  each  part.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  coffin,  near  the  centre,  a  hole  3  inches  long  and  i 
VOL.  v,  6 


82  Sepiilchral  Remains. 

wide  had  been  cut  through  the  wood,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  off  the  aqueous  matter  arising  from  the  decomposition  of  the 
body.  This  coffin  was  about  7  feet  long  by  3  broad.  When  first 
opened,  it  was  nearly  full  of  water,  but  on  this  being  cleared  away  a 
perfect  and  well-preserved  skeleton  presented  itself,  which  was  laid  on 
its  right  side,  with  the  head  to  the  south.  The  body,  of  which  the 
skeleton  measures  6  feet  2  inches,  having  been  much  too  long  for 
the  hollow  of  the  coffin,  which  was  only  5  feet  4  inches  long,  the  legs 
had  been  necessarily  doubled  up. 

Several  small  objects  were  found  in  the  cofifin  with  the  skeleton, 
most  of  which  are  represented  in  the  accompanying  cut.  They  are 
three  pieces  of  chipped  flint  (Figs.  1,  2,  6) ;  a  well-executed  ornament, 
resembling  a  large  stud  or  button,  apparently  of  horn,  which  has 
every  appearance  of  having  been  formed  by  the  lathe  (Fig.  4) ;  a  pin 
of  the  same  material,  which  lay  on  the  breast,  and  had  apparently 
been  used  to  secure  a  skin,  in  which  the  body  had  evidently  been 
enveloped  (Fig.  7) ;  an  article  of  wood,  also  formed  like  a  pin,  but 
having  what  would  be  its  point  rounded  and  flattened  on  one  side  to 
about  half  its  length  (Fig.  8) ;  fragments  of  an  ornamental  ring,  of 
similar  material  to  the  stud,  and  supposed,  from  its  large  size,  to  have 
been  used  for  fastening  some  part  of  the  dress  (Fig.  3) ;  the  remains 
of  a  small  basket  of  wicker-work,  the  bottom  of  which  had  been 
formed  of  bark  ;  and  a  flat  bronze  dagger,  or  knife  (Fig.  5).  None 
of  these  articles  give  us  any  assistance  in  fixing  the  age  of  this  curious 
interment,  except  the  dagger,  and  that  is  not  very  certain.  Chipped 
flints  are  found  very  frequently  in  Roman  interments,  both  in  this 
country  and  on  the  Continent ;  and  I  have  also  found  them  in  Saxon 
graves ;  but  the  dagger  belongs  to  a  type  of  which  several  examples 
have  been  found  in  the  Wiltshire  barrows,  as  well  as  in  similar  inter- 
ments in  other  parts  of  England,  which,  from  all  the  circumstances 
connected  with  them,  we  should  be  led  to  ascribe  to  a  remote  date, 
perhaps  to  the  earlier  period  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  the  island. 
A  quantity  of  vegetable  substance  was  also  found  in  the  coffin,  which 
was  rather  hastily  conjectured  to  be  the  remains  of  mistletoe.  The 
cofifin,  after  being  deposited  in  its  grave,  had  been  covered  over  with 
large  oak  branches.  The  tumulus  above  this  was  formed  of  a  layer 
of  clay,  then  a  layer  of  loose  stones,  another  layer  of  clay,  and  a 
second  layer  of  loose  stones,  and  the  whole  was  finally  covered  with 
soil,  which  had  no  doubt  collected  upon  the  tumulus  during  the  long 
period  since  it  was  raised.* 

The  wooden  coffin  from  Gristhorpe,  with  its  contents,  were  de- 
posited in  the  Scarborough  Museum,  where  they  have  always  excited 
considerable  interest.     The  skeleton,  which  has   been  unadvisedly 

*  An  account  of  the  opening  of  this  tumulus,  and  of  its  contents,  was  published 
by  Mr.  W.  C.  Williamson,  curator  of  the  Manchester  Natural  History  Society. 
iSecond  edition.     Scarborough,  1836.     4to. 


Curious  Forms  of  Septdchral  Interment.        Z-i, 

called  that  of  a  "British  chief,"  has  by  some  chemical  influence 
become  as  black  as  ebony,  from  which  circumstance  some  pleasant 
archceologist  jokingly  gave  to  the  British  chief  the  title  of  the  Black 
Prhice.  It  remained  a  unique  example  of  barrow  interments,  until 
I  received  from  a  friend  in  that  part  of  Yorkshire,  Mr.  Edward 
Tindall,  of  Bridlington,  information  of  the  discovery  of  a  similar 
interment  near  Great  Driffield,  in  the  August  of  last  year ;  and  soon 
afterwards  I  learnt  that  another  oak  coffin  of  this  description  had  been 
found  near  Beverley  in  1848.  Of  the  latter  I  have  received,  through 
Mr.  Tindall,  some  account  from  Dr.  Brereton,  of  Beverley.  It 
appears  that  in  the  year  just  mentioned  a  labourer  named  Fitzgerald, 
while  digging  a  drain  in  the  ground  called  Beverley  Parks,  near  that 
town,  came  upon  what  he  supposed  to  be  a  portion  of  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  which  had  been  turned  quite  black  from  the  chemical  action  of 
the  iron  and  gallic  acid  in  the  soil.  On  further  examination  it  proved 
to  be  a  coffin,  which  was  formed  very  similarly  to  that  at  Scarborough. 
A  slab,  which  had  been  cut,  or  split  from  the  rest,  formed  the  lid  ; 
but  it  had  been  fastened  to  the  chest  by  means  of  four  oaken  thrindles, 
or  pegs,  about  the  size  of  the  spokes  of  a  common  ladder,  and  the 
ends  of  the  coffin  had  been  bevelled  off,  so  as  to  leave  less  of  the 
substance  of  the  wood  where  the  holes  for  the  pegs  were  drilled 
through.  This  coffin  was  nearly  8-|  feet  long  externally,  and  7|  feet 
internally  ;  and  it  was  4  feet  2  inches  wide.  It  is  understood  to  have 
contained  some  fragments  of  human  bones,  not  calcined,  but  no  care- 
ful examination  appears  to  have  been  made  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery. A  quantity  of  bones  of  different  kinds  of  animals  were  found 
in  the  soil  about  the  spot.  The  tumulus,  in  this  case,  had  probably 
been  cleared  away  long  ago,  without  disturbing  the  interment,  in 
consequence  of  the  position  of  the  latter  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  This,  I  understand,  was  the  case  also  with  the  coffin  at 
Gristhorpe,  which  had  been  placed  in  a  hole  some  depth  below  the 
original  surface  of  the  ground. 

From  the  description  I  have  received  it  seems  rather  doubtful 
whether  the  barrow  in  which  the  third  oak  coffin  was  found,  and 
which  is  situated  by  one  of  the  fine  clear  streams  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Great  Driffield,  near  a  place  called  Sunderlandwick,  be 
altogether  artificial,  or  whether  an  original  rise  in  the  ground  had  not 
been  taken  advantage  of  by  those  who  erected  it.  If  the  latter  were 
the  case,  then  a  hole  has  been  dug  here  also  for  the  reception  of  the 
coffin  ;  but  if  the  whole  mound,  which  was  composed  of  clay,  were 
artificial,  the  coffin  must  have  been  laid  upon  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Two  large  and  thick  branches  of  trees  had  here,  as  at  Gris- 
thorpe, been  placed  over  the  coffin  before  the  mound  was  filled  in. 
The  coffin  in  this  instance  was,  like  the  others,  hollowed  from  the  solid 
trunk  of  a  tree,  but  it  differed  from  them  in  having  no  ends,  and, 
although  it  came  in  two  pieces  when  taken  out  of  the  earth  (or  rather 

6—2 


84  Sepulchral  Rejnains. 

in  three,  for  the  lid  broke  in  two),  it  was  supposed  by  those  who 
found  it  that  it  had  been  originally  one  entire  piece,  a  sort  of  large 
wooden  tube,  or  pipe,  formed  by  hollowing  through  the  heart  of  the 
timber.  This  coffin  was  about  6  feet  in  length  and  4  feet  in  breadth, 
the  disproportion  in  breadth  being  accounted  for  by  the  circumstance 
that  it  was  intended  to  contain  three  bodies,  two  of  which  were  laid 
with  their  heads  turned  one  way,  and  the  other  turned  in  the  contrary 
direction.  The  coffin,  in  consequence  of  the  ends  being  unprotected, 
was  filled  with  clay  and  sand,  which  had  become  mixed  with  the 
human  remains,  and  the  skulls  and  other  bones  were  in  so  fragile  a 
condition  through  decay,  that  they  fell  to  pieces  when  disturbed,  and 
did  not  admit  of  any  profitable  examination.  I  understand  that  no 
articles  of  any  kind,  which  might  assist  in  fixing  the  date  of  this  inter- 
ment, were  found ;  but  a  quantity  of  ashes  lay  mixed  with  the  sur- 
rounding soil,  which  are  described  as  still  retaining  a  burnt  smell. 
The  coffin  in  this  instance  lay  due  east  and  west.* 

No  circumstance  connected  with  these  two  last  interments  is  cal- 
culated to  throw  any  light  upon  their  dates,  which,  however,  I  think 
we  may  safely  consider  as  not  more  recent  than  the  close  of  the 
Roman  period.  But  as  I  was  putting  these  notes  together,  informa- 
tion reached  me  of  a  still  more  singular  discovery.  During  the  last 
two  years,  the  local  board  of  health  at  Selby  has  carried  on  extensive 
excavations  for  sewerage,  etc.,  in  that  town,  which  have  brought  to 
light  numerous  ancient  remains,  including  the  foundations  of  a 
fortified  gate,  or  bridge,  of  very  massive  character.  In  the  month  of 
June  of  the  present  year,  while  cutting  through  a  piece  of  ground 
called  the  Church  Hill,  which  is  understood  to  be  the  site  of  the 
ancient  parish  church,  destroyed  when  the  old  abbey  church  was 
made  parochial,  and  in  which  considerable  foundations  of  stone  were 
found,  the  workmen  met  with  not  one,  but  fourteen  wooden  coffins, 
all  made,  like  those  I  have  been  describing,  out  of  the  solid  trunks 
of  oak  trees,  which  had  been  separated  into  two  pieces  in  order  to 
form  a  chest  and  lid,  and  had  been  scooped  out  to  form  a  receptacle 
for  the  corpse.  I  have  been  favoured  with  an  account  of  this  dis- 
covery by  Mr.  George  Lowther,  of  Selby.  These  coffins,  he  informs 
me,  were  found  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  some  of  them  at  a 
depth  of  not  more  than  eighteen  inches,  lying  parallel  to  each  other, 
not  exactly  east  and  west,  but  rather  E.N.E.  by  W.S.W.,  a  variation 
of  two  points.  To  Mr.  Lowther,  also,  I  am  indebted  for  a  drawing 
of  one  of  these  coffins,  found  on  the  third  of  June,  1857,  which  is 
copied  in  the  annexed  woodcut.  It  was  the  only  one  which  appears 
to  have  been  very  carefully  examined,  but,  as  far  as  I  can  gather, 
they  all  contained  remains  of  human  skeletons,  though  accompanied 
by  no  articles  which  might  assist  us  in  assigning  a  date  to  them. 

*  This  coffin  has,  I  believe,  been  given,  by  the  proprietor  of  the  estate  on  which 
it  was  found,  to  the  Museum  of  the  Yorkshire  Philosophical  Society  at  York. 


Curio2is  Forms  of  Sepitlchral  Interment.         85 

The  skeleton  contained  in  this  coffin  was  pronounced  by  a  medical 
gentleman  present  at  the  examination  to  be  that  of  a  full-grown  female. 
This  coffin  was  6  feet  10  inches  long ;  one  which  lay  near  it  measured 
nearly  8  feet.  It  differs  in  one  rather  remarkable  circumstance  from 
those  previously  described,  namely,  that  although  similarly  cut  and 
hollowed  from  a  solid  trunk  of  oak,  the  interior  work  is  finished  in  a 
less  workmanlike  manner.  In  the  Gristhorpe  and  Beverley  coffins 
the  cavity  for  the  reception  of  the  body  must  have  been  finished  in- 
ternally by  the  chisel,  as  their  ends  stand  at  right  angles,  or  nearly  so, 
to  the  bottom,  which  is  flat  in  the  whole  length ;  but  in  the  Selby 
coffin  the  cavity  has  been  formed  by  an  adze,  or  similar  instrument, 
fitted  for  hollowing  or  scooping  a  block  of  wood,  but  not  for  cutting 
it  out  clean  at  right  angles.  It  is  also  deserving  of  remark,  that  the 
upper  part,  or  lid,  is  hollowed  out  in  a  corresponding  manner  to  the 
lower  part.  The  two  parts  of  the  coffin  were  in  this,  as  in  the  others 
found  at  the  same  place,  fastened  together  by  oval  wooden  pegs, 
driven  down  into  the  sides,  resembling  in  this  respect  the  Beverley 
coffin.  When  it  was  first  discovered,  and  the  soil  cleared  away  from 
it,  the  wood  of  the  upper  part  was  found  decayed  and  broken  away, 
so  as  to  expose  to  view  the  face  of  the  skeleton,  as  shown  in  our 
engraving. 

Although  we  have  nothing  to  define  the  age  of  the  Selby  wooden 
coffins,  we  have  the  certainty  that  they  belonged  to  Christian  inter- 
ments, and  that  they  were  laid  in  regular  juxtaposition  in  a  church- 
yard. All  the  circumstances  connected  with  them  would  lead  us  to 
ascribe  them  to  a  remote  period,  and  I  do  not  think  it  improbable 
that  they  may  be  anterior  to  the  Norman  Conquest.  I  am  not  at 
this  moment  aware  of  the  discovery  of  coffins  of  the  same  description 
in  other  parts  of  the  island,  and  they  seem  to  show,  which  would 
indeed  be  a  curious  fact,  that  a  peculiar  burial  practice  had  continued 
to  exist  in  this  district  (Eastern  Yorkshire)  from  a  period  dating  as 
far  back  as  the  commencement  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  the 
island  to  probably  a  late  Anglo-Saxon  period,  that  is,  during  a  thou- 
sand years.  This  should  be  a  sufficient  warning  against  our  assuming 
too  hastily  that  a  particular  form  of  interment  must  be  characteristic 
of  a  particular  date.  I  must,  however,  add,  that  I  am  rather  inclined 
to  doubt  whether  the  contents  of  the  Gristhorpe  tumulus  do  not 
rather  prove  that  the  peculiar  shaped  dagger  or  knife  found  in  it 
was  in  use  at  a  later  period  than  is  commonly  supposed,  than  that  the 
dagger  proves  the  extremely  remote  age  of  the  coffin.  From  various 
circumstances  which  have  come  to  my  knowledge  through  the  re- 
searches of  Mr.  Tindall  and  others,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  most 
of  the  barrows  in  the  maritime  district  of  Yorkshire  to  the  south  of 
Scarborough  belong  to  the  later  Roman  period,  in  which  case  we 
may  much  more  easily  understand  how  a  particular  form  of  coffin 
then  in  use  may  have  continued  in  use  during  the  Anglo-Saxon  period. 


86  Sepulchral  Remains. 

It  must  be  added,  as  a  fact  of  considerable  importance  with  regard  to 
these  interments  in  England,  that,  as  I  learn  from  the  English  edition 
of  Worsaae's  Primeval  Antiquities  of  Denmark  (Parker,  1849),  ex- 
amples of  exactly  similar  coffins  have  been  found  in  one  or  two 
instances  in  barrows  in  Denmark  and  Germany,  which  date,  probably, 
from  about  the  fourth  century.  Thomas  Wright. 

Some  Account  of  the  Isle  of  Ely. 

[1766,//.  1 18-120.] 

Letter  from  the  late  Dr.  Stukely,  to  Mr.  Peter  CoUinson,  F.R.S., 
giving  an  account  of  several  British  Antiquities  lately  found  near 
Chateris,  in  the  isle  of  Ely. 

The  isle  of  Ely  extends  from  Cotenham,  Cambridgeshire,  for  forty 
miles  in  length,  to  the  old  river,  called  Nyne,  running  eastward  to 
Wisbech  river,  which  divides  it  from  Lincolnshire,  therefore  called 
Shire  drain. 

The  isle  is,  for  the  most  part,  a  vast  fenny  level,  divided  into  many 
islets  of  high  ground  ;  some  of  gravelly  soil,  some  of  chalk ;  separated 
from  one  another,  as  well  as  from  the  continent  (if  so  we  may  express 
it),  by  impassable  boggy  ground,  rivers,  and  large  meres. 

These  islands  of  firm  ground  are  well  inhabited,  have  towns,  and 
fair  churches,  woods,  pastures,  and  fresh  springs,  so  that  each,  in 
summer  time,  is  as  a  paradise  detached  from  the  rest  of  the  busy 
world. 

The  fenny  parts  were  originally,  for  the  main,  dryer,  and  better 
ground,  than  now.  I  have  largely  discussed  this  affair,  in  cap.  iv.  of 
my  medallic  History  of  Carausius,  Book  II.,  on  account  of  an  arti- 
ficial canal  called  Carsdike,  which  that  emperor  drew  across  it,  to 
carry  corn  boats  to  the  Scottish  Pretenturae,  and  of  the  many  roads 
he  made  there. 

Before  Roman  times,  we  may  be  well  assured  the  most  ancient 
Britons,  when  they  advanced  so  far  northward  as  the  isle  of  Ely,  from 
the  southern  coasts  of  their  first  landing,  would  greedily  seize  upon 
these  islets  of  high  ground,  so  fortified  with  rivers  and  fens  ;  and 
erect  petty  sovereignties  there,  in  soil  so  rich,  and  so  secure,  for  each 
may  be  reckoned  as  a  British  oppidum  according  to  Caesar's  descrip- 
tion of  that  of  Cassibelin,  Sylvis,  paludibusque  egregie  immitum. 

I  here  exhibit  a  curious  instance,  in  these  remains  of  remote 
antiquity,  found  at  Chateris,  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1757,  and 
given  to  me  by  Robert  Fawcet,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor;  and  as  we 
may  say,  successor  to  the  king,  who  owned  these  martial  accoutre- 
ments before  us 

Chateris  has  its  name  Chartreuse,  from  a  nunnery  founded  there 
A.D.  980,  by  Alfwena,  mother  to  Earl  Ailwyn,  alderman  of  all 
England,  founder   of  the  noble   abbey   of  Ramsey.      The  site  of 


Some  Account  of  the  Isle  of  Ely.  Sy 

Chateris  monastery  was  probably  the  palace  of  the  monarch  among 
the  old  Britons,  whose  tomb  they  dug  up.  It  was  a  piece  of  gravelly 
ground,  pretty  much  elevated,  towards  Somershan  ferry,  and  was  his 
family  burying  place,  for  there  were  more  bodies  interred  in  the  same 
spot. 

They  were  not  above  two  feet  and  a  half  under  the  turf.  On  the 
right  side  of  his  body,  and  under  his  arm,  lay  his  sword  ;  the  handle 
consumed,  no  guard  or  cross  bar  at  the  handle  appeared.  Such 
were  the  long  Irish  skenes ;  on  the  left  side  lay  the  spear,  the  staff  of 
it  consumed  ;  the  same  must  be  said  of  his  bow,  for  often  they  were 
buried  with  them.  On  his  breast  lay  the  iron  umbo,  or  navel  of  his 
shield  ;  the  materials  of  which  it  was  made,  a  bull's  hide,  consumed. 
At  his  head  was  placed  the  great  urn  as  usual,  of  black  earth  or  clay; 
this  we  suppose  held  the  bones  of  his  wife,  burnt ;  she  dying  before 
him,  they  were  kept  to  be  interred  with  him  ;  this  case  I  have  often 
observed  at  Stonehenge,  and  this  was  the  origin  of  urn  burial,  long  be- 
fore the  Roman  name  was  extant ;  which  I  take  to  be  the  present 
case,  for  this  sepulture  may  be  3,000  years  old  ;  and  of  some  of  the 
first  inhabitants  of  our  island.  (See  the  different  representations  of 
the  above-mentioned  instruments  in  the  plate  annexed). 

The  sword  is  only  an  entire  body  of  rust ;  the  same  may  be  said 
of  the  spear  head,  and  of  the  umbo. 

The  curious  glass  vase  was  found  along  with  the  recited  utensils  ; 
it  was  broke  in  pieces,  as  well  as  the  urn,  by  the  workmen.  I  could 
not  set  the  pieces  together,  so  as  to  be  certain  of  the  exact  figure  of 
the  glass ;  but  the  pieces  are  of  a  fabric  very  extraordinary  ;  and 
what  I  have  never  observed  before,  nor  can  I  guess  at  its  use. 

'Tis  notorious  that  our  Britons  were  famous  for  their  artifice  in 
glass  works.  We  find  many  of  their  beads— snakestones  as  called — 
and  like  things  of  exquisite  curiosity.  Mr.  Bell,  of  the  Antiquarian 
Society,  bought  a  curious  piece  in  glass,  representing  a  snake  rolled 
up.  Mr.  Baker  has  another ;  this  is  the  thing  of  which  Pliny  writes 
in  a  marvellous  fable.  Some  curious  parti-coloured  beads  of  theirs 
are  to  be  seen,  some  in  Mr.  Edward  Lhvyd's  plate  of  British 
antiquities  in  Camden's  "  Britannia."  .... 

The  iron  of  the  spear-head  is  exactly  half  a  cubit  long  ;  some  little 
matter  above  ten  inches.  The  diameter  of  the  umbo  of  the  shield 
half  that  quantity. 

On  the  22nd  of  February,  1759,  Mr.  Jacobs,  of  Feversham,  gave 
an  account  to  the  Antiquarian  Society  of  digging  up  a  body,  near 
Barham  Downs,  of  an  old  Briton ;  a  sword  and  spear  found  with  it, 
of  like  manner  as  ours ;  moreover,  a  necklace  of  glass  beads  was 
about  the  neck  of  the  skeleton. 

Such  ornaments  I  observe  about  the  necks  of  our  British  kings  on 
their  coins,  whereof  I  have  fifteen  plates  engraven,  with  their 
descriptions. 


88  Sepulchral  Remains. 

The  glass  vase  found  with  the  body  at  Chateris,  was  unluckily 
broken  in  pieces,  which  renders  it  impossible  to  know  its  exact  figure 
or  use ;  but  the  make  of  it  is  extraordinary,  and  what  I  believe  our 
present  glass-blowers  cannot  perform  ;  many  pipes  proceeded  from 
it,  but  closed ;  I  think  ten  in  number.  I  never  saw  one  like  it,  nor 
can  I  conjecture  what  its  purpose  was 

Antiquities,  etc.,  discovered  at  Whittlesford,  Cambridge- 
shire. 

[1819,  Part  I.,  pp.  27,28.] 

We  are  now  enabled  to  lay  before  our  readers  some  particulars 
respecting  the  remarkable  discoveries  that  have  been  made  upon  the 
estate  of  Ebenezer  HoUick,  Esq.,  of  Whittlesford,  at  a  place  called 
Got  Moor,  between  Whittlesford  and  Triplow,  two  miles  from  Newton. 

Mr.  Hollick  employed  some  labourers  to  level  three  ancient  tumuli 
upon  Got  Moor,  called  "The  Chronicle  Hills,"  with  a  view  to  the 
improvement  of  his  land.  These  tumuli  stood  in  a  line  nearly  north 
and  south,  upon  the  north  side  of  a  brook  separating  the  parishes 
of  Triplow  and  Whittlesford.  The  old  road  from  Cambridge  to 
Triplow,  through  Shelford,  crossed  this  brook ;  it  may  have  been  a 
Roman  way.  Upon  the  left  {i.e.  eastern)  side  of  it,  were  the  tumuli, 
and  also  other  sepulchres  of  a  very  remarkable  nature,  as  we  shall 
presently  show. 

The  middlemost  of  "The  Chronicle  Hills"  was  8  feet  high,  and 
it  was  27  yards  in  diameter;  the  others  were  much  lower.  They 
ranged  along  an  ancient  wall,  constructed  of  flints  and  pebbles, 
which  the  workmen  are  now  removing.  Its  length  was  4  rods,  its 
thickness  30  inches,  and  it  had  three  abutments  upon  its  eastern 
side.  Beyond  this  wall,  at  the  distance  of  12  rods  to  the  east,  was 
found  an  ancient  well  made  with  clunch,  9  feet  in  diameter,  full  of 
flints  and  tiles  of  a  curious  shape,  so  formed  as  to  lap  over  each  other. 
Some  of  these  tiles  had  a  hole  in  the  centre ;  and,  from  their  general 
appearance,  it  was  believed  that  they  had  been  used  in  an  aqueduct. 
In  this  well  were  found  two  bucks'  or  elks'  horns,  of  very  large  size. 
Upon  opening  the  tumuli,  the  workmen  removed,  from  the  larger  one, 
four  human  skeletons,  which  were  found  lying  upon  their  backs, 
about  2  feet  from  the  bottom.  Some  broken  pieces  of  terra-cotta, 
with  red  and  with  black  glazing,  were  found  in  opening  the  tumuli, 
heaped  among  the  earth,  which,  from  the  nature  of  the  workmanship, 
seemed  to  be  Roman ;  but  this  is  uncertain.  In  opening  the  northern 
tumulus,  and  in  removing  the  wall  upon  its  eastern  side,  such  an 
innumerable  quantity  of  the  bones  of  a  small  quadruped  was  found, 
that  they  were  actually  stratified  to  the  depth  of  4  inches,  so  that  the 
workmen  took  out  whole  shovels  filled  with  these  bones ;  and  the 
same  were  also  found  near  other  sepulchres  about  100  yards  to  the 
north  of  "The  Chronicle  Hills."    The  most  singular  circumstance  is, 


Antiqtiities  discovered  at  W hittlesford.  89 

that  there  is  no  living  animal  now  in  the  country  to  which  these 
bones,  thus  deposited  by  millions,  may  be  anatomically  referred. 
The  bones  of  the  jaw  correspond  with  those  of  the  castor,  or  beaver, 
as  found  in  a  fossil  state  in  the  bogs  near  Chateris ;  but  the  first  are 
incomparably  smaller.  Like  those  of  the  beaver  they  are  furnished 
with  two  upper  and  two  lower  incisors,  and  with  four  grinders  on 
each  side.  Nothing  like  these  minute  bones  has,  however,  been  yet 
known  to  exist  in  a  fossil  state.  One  of  the  professors  of  this 
University,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  spot,  believing  them  to 
have  belonged  to  the  lemming,  which  sometimes  descends  in  moving 
myriads  from  the  mountains  of  Lapland,  transmitted  several  of  them 
to  London,  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  to  Sir  Everard  Home,  who 
have  confirmed  his  conjecture.  According  to  these  gentlemen  there 
exists  at  present  a  creature  of  this  species,  called  a  shrew-mouse, 
which  is  exceedingly  destructive  to  young  plantations.  About  two 
years  ago  the  Commissioners  of  Forests  wrote  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
to  know  what  could  be  done  to  get  rid  of  them.  A  colony  of  these 
animals  may  have  been  hemmed  in  by  some  flood,  and,  being  all  of 
them  drowned,  were  perhaps  thus  huddled  together  in  one  spot. 

Before  we  conclude  this  article,  we  have  also  to  add,  that  about 
100  yards  from  the  north  of  "The  Chronicle  Hills"  there  were  found 
two  other  sepulchres,  in  which  human  skeletons  were  found  in  so}-oi, 
constructed  of  flints  and  pebbles,  put  together  with  fine  gravel.  These 
soroi  were  surrounded  each  by  a  circular  wall  2\  feet  thick,  and  about 

3  feet  high,  22  feet  in  diameter.  The  whole  were  covered  beneath 
mounds  of  earth,  which  rose  in  hills  about  2  feet  above  the  soroi, 
having  been  probably  diminished  in  height  by  long  pressure  and  the 
effect  of  rains.  In  the  first  soros  (which  was  5  feet  square,  and  8 
feet  deep,  brought  to  a  point  with  pebbles)  were  found  two  skeletons. 
The  uppermost  appeared  to  be  of  larger  size.  Under  the  skull  was 
found  the  blade  of  a  poignard  or  knife.  The  head  of  this  skeleton 
rested  upon  the  body  of  the  other.  The  soros  was  full  of  dirt ;  and 
patches  of  a  white,  unctuous  substance,  like  spermaceti,  adhered  to 
the  flints.  It  had  an  oak  bottom,  black  as  ink,  but  stained  with  the 
green  oxide  of  copper,  owing  to  the  decomposition  of  an  ancient 
bronze  vessel,  very  small  parts  of  which  have  been  removed  to  this 
University,  and  analysed ;  the  composition  consisting,  as  usual  in 
ancient  bronze,  of  an  alloy  of  copper  and  tin,  in  the  proportion  of  88 
of  the  former  to  12  of  the  latter.  Large  iron  nails,  reduced  almost 
to  an  oxide,  were  also  found  here.     In  the  other  soros  (which  was 

4  feet  square,  within  its  circular  wall,  and  8  feet  deep),  a  human 
skeleton  was  found ;  and  another  below  it  in  a  sitting  posture,  with 
an  erect  spear,  the  point  of  which  was  of  iron.  Nails  were  found 
here,  but  no  wood,  as  in  the  other  soros.  Here  the  small  quadruped 
bones  were  found  in  great  abundance.  The  skull  of  the  sitting  figure 
was  stolen  by  one  of  the  labourers,  and  carried  to  his  own  cottage  at 


90  Sepulchral  Remains. 

Whittlesford :  it  had  every  tooth  perfect.  The  robbery  has  given 
rise  to  a  very  amusing  instance  of  superstition  :  for  it  is  maintained 
at  Whittlesford  that  the  headless  skeleton  of  an  ancient  warrior 
knocks  every  night  at  the  door  of  this  cottager,  demanding  the  skull 
sacrilegiously  stolen  from  his  grave. 

Much  more  might  be  added  respecting  the  antiquities  of  Got  Moor, 
and  of  "  The  Chronicle  Hills."  Many  gentlemen  of  the  University 
have  resorted  to  the  spot  to  gratify  their  curiosity.  The  mode  of 
burial  exhibited  by  those  ancient  sepulchres,  added  to  the  fact  of  the 
bronze  reliques  found  within  one  of  them,  and  also  that  no  Roman 
coins  have  ever  been  discovered  among  the  other  ruins,  plead  strongly 
for  the  superior  antiquity  of  the  people  here  interred ;  and  lead  to  a 
conclusion  that  "The  Chronicle  Hills"  were  rather  Celtic  than  Roman 
tombs. 

Barrows  in  Cornwall. 

[1865, /'a;-///.,//.  31-37.] 

It  is  rather  strange  that  the  labours  of  Dr.  Borlase,  in  investigating 
and  describing  Cornish  antiquities,  did  not  incite  a  similar  desire  in 
other  Cornishmen  who  lived  soon  after  his  time  to  search  out  and 
explore  kindred  objects  on  their  own  account ;  for  though  the  doctor 
has  left  behind  him  the  most  valuable  results  of  a  most  industrious 
life,  there  were  necessarily  many  important  remains  which  escaped  his 
notice,  and  are  therefore  left  unrecorded.  The  doctor's  fame  was  so 
great,  and  so  much  was  he  respected,  that  many  probably  shrank 
from  attempting  to  follow  in  the  same  path  ;  and  so  implicit  was  the 
faith  in  him  that  it  was  considered  he  had  described  everything  in  the 
county  worthy  of  notice.  A  practical  illustration  of  this  sentiment 
occurred  not  long  ago.  In  a  western  parish  of  Cornwall,  some 
labourers  were  employed  in  enclosing  waste  land,  when  they  came 
across  a  stone  circle,  and  suspecting  it  to  be  akin  to  others  popularly 
held  in  veneration,  they  hesitated  to  destroy  it,  and  appealed  for 
advice  to  a  mine  captain,  who  decided  that  if  noticed  in  Borlase  it 
should  be  preserved,  if  not,  it  should  be  demolished.  The  doctor's 
"  Antiquities  "  being  referred  to,  and  no  mention  of  the  circle  found, 
it  was  at  once  cleared  away.  Had  there  been  some  one  to  continue 
the  work  so  well  begun  by  the  Cornish  antiquary,  we  should  have  de- 
scriptions of  many  valuable  antiquities  now  destroyed,  and  of  which 
no  records  exist.  So  recently  as  1862,  Thomas  Cornish,  Esq.,  of 
Penzance,  discovered  at  Bosphrennis  an  ancient  bee-hive  structure, 
one  of  the  most  valuable  objects  of  archseological  interest  in  the 
county,  and  at  that  time  undescribed.*  In  1864  the  same  gentleman 
directed  me  to  a  remarkable  barrow  in  the  parish  of  Sancreed  ;t  and 

*  For  a  notice  of  this  hut  see  ArcJuvologia  Camhrensis,  vol.  ix.,  Third  Series, 
and  Gentleman^ s  Magazine,  vol.  i.,  1864.      [See  Note  9.] 
f  See  Airlucologia  Catiil>rciisis,  vol.  x..  Third  Series. 


Barrozvs  in  Cornwall.  91 

I  am  also  indebted  to  Mr.  Cornish  for  introducing  me  to  another 
barrow  of  great  interest  at  Pennance  (the  head  of  the  valley),  in  the 
parish  of  Zennor.  It  is  of  particular  interest,  because  so  nearly 
resembHng  the  giants'  graves  of  Scilly,  described  and  figured  by 
Borlase  ;  and  because  it  has  not  hitherto  been  known  that  an  example 
of  this  kind  of  structure  existed  in  Cornwall.  It  may  be  said  to  be 
an  intermediate  step  between  the  simple  rectangular  kistvaen  of  a 
cromlech  and  the  subterranean  galleries,  such  as  those  of  Bolleit  and 
Pendeen.  It  is  in  fact  a  walled  chamber  within  a  mound,  which  has 
a  diameter  of  23  feet,  and  is  8  feet  high.  On  the  south-east  side  the 
mound  has  been  broken  away  to  give  access  to  the  cell,  which  mea- 
sures 9  feet  6  inches  in  length,  is  4  feet  wide,  and  4  feet  4  inches 
high  ;  the  roof  being  formed  of  large  slabs  of  granite  thrown  hori- 
zontally across ;  and  the  end  of  the  chamber  consists  of  a  single  slab. 
The  first  slab  of  the  roof  is  lower  than  the  others,  the  height  from  the 
floor  to  its  under  surface  being  3  feet  6  inches  only,  and  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  designed  as  a  lintel,  for  probably  an  entrance 
originally  existed  at  this  end,  the  chamber  being  used  for  repeated 
interments,  as  Dr.  Borlase  suggests  with  regard  to  the  giants'  graves  of 
Scilly,  and  the  opening  blocked  with  large  stones.  The  mound  is 
composed  chiefly  of  stones  piled  around  and  over  the  cell :  some 
earth  was  used  ;  and  the  base  is  encircled  by  a  consecutive  series  of 
retaining  stones,  some  of  which  are  of  large  dimensions.  The  surface 
of  the  mound  has  become  thickly  overgrown  with  vegetation,  and 
thorns  and  furze-bushes  have  taken  root  on  the  summit. 

The  floor  of  the  chamber  is  nearly  level  with  the  surface  of  the  field 
in  which  the  mound  is  situated,  and  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
flagged.  All  deposits  must  have  been  removed  years  ago,  for  the 
barrow  has  long  been  in  its  present  condition.  Digging,  probably, 
would  be  of  little  use ;  indeed,  many  of  these  ancient  walled  graves 
have  turned  out  to  be  disappointing  to  investigators.  Dr.  Borlase,  re- 
ferring to  the  smaller  of  two  caves  which  he  explored  in  Scilly,  says 
he  found  "on  one  side  in  the  floor  a  small  round  cavity  dug  deeper 
than  the  rest ;  it  was  covered  with  flat  rocks,  as  the  former.  In  both 
these  we  found  neither  bone  nor  urn,  but  some  strong  unctuous  earths, 
of  different  colours  from  the  natural,  which  smelt  cadaverous." 

And  here,  for  the  sake  of  comparing  the  Pennance  with  the  Scilly 
barrows,  I  subjoin  Dr.  Borlase's  description  and  plan  of  one  of  the 
latter  :  "  There  is  a  very  singular  kind  of  barrow  which  obtains 
throughout  all  the  Scilly  Islands  :  they  are  edged  with  large  stones, 
which  form  the  outward  ring  ;  in  the  middle  they  have  a  cavity  walled 
on  each  side,  and  covered  with  large  flat  stones,  and  over  all  is  a 
tumulus  of  small  stones  and  earth,  in  some  more  of  earth  than  stones, 
in  others  vice  versa.  Upon  opening  it  in  the  middle  of  the  barrow 
we  found  a  large  cavity,  as  represented  in  the  plan,  full  of  earth  ;  there 
was  a  passage  into  it  at  the  eastern  end,  i  foot  8  inches  wide,  between 


92  SepiUchi^al  Remains. 

two  stones  set  on  end.  In  the  middle  it  was  4  feet  8  inches  wide, 
the  length  of  it  22  feet.  It  was  walled  on  each  side  with  masonry 
and  mortar,  the  side  4  feet  10  inches  high  ;  at  the  western  end  it  had 
a  large  flat  stone  which  terminated  the  cavity;  its  length  bore  east  and 
by  north,  and  it  was  covered  from  end  to  end  with  large  flat  stones, 
several  of  which  we  removed  in  order  to  get  at  the  exact  dimensions 
of  the  cavity,  and  others  had  been  carried  off  for  building."* 

On  Conquer  Down,  in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Towednack,  and 
about  two  miles  from  the  barrow  described  above,  was  a  barrow  about 
45  feet  in  diameter,  and  6  feet  high.  It  could  be  seen  that  the  base 
consisted  of  a  circle  of  enclosing  stones,  but  the  mound  itself  had 
become  thickly  turf-clad.  In  the  year  1862,  some  labourers  having 
to  build  a  hedge  for  enclosing  land,  and  the  line  of  fence  crossing 
this  barrow,  they  cut  into  it,  and  found  that  it  was  composed  entirely 
of  stones  ;  when  approaching  near  the  centre  they  came  on  an  urn, 
mouth  downwards,  on  a  large  flat  slab  of  granite.  Within  were 
several  fragments  of  human  bones,  and  signs  of  the  action  of  fire 
amongst  the  neighbouring  stones  were  very  apparent.  There  was  no 
regular  kistvaen  formed,  but  the  stones  were  carefully  built  around 
the  urn,  which  was  protected  above  by  a  larger  slab.  The  urn  was 
removed  entire,  and  taken  into  a  cottage  a  few  yards  distant ;  but  the 
good  housewife,  in  accordance  with  a  general  superstition  of  this  dis- 
trict, that  the  ghost  of  the  ashes  which  it  contained  would  come  after 
it,  insisted  on  its  instant  removal,  when  it  was  hid  in  a  hedge  near  the 
barrow. 

On  Saturday,  May  20th,  I  had  the  pleasure  to  accompany  a  party 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  were  desirous  of  ascertaining  what  might 
be  discovered  by  a  further  investigation  of  this  barrow.  Mr.  Cornish 
had  kindly  made  every  arrangement  for  the  exploration,  and,  being 
favoured  by  a  remarkably  fine  day,  operations  were  commenced  by 
continuing  the  trench  southward  of  the  spot  where  the  urn  was  found. 
Three  workmen  were  employed,  and  after  digging  for  two  hours,  it 
became  evident  that  nothing  of  interest  was  likely  to  be  discovered ; 
there  continued  to  be  the  same  monotonous  repetition  of  stone  after 
stone.  We  then  turned  our  attention  to  the  eastern  side,  working 
towards  the  edge  of  the  mound,  in  hopes  some  secondary  deposits 
might  have  been  made  around  the  principal  interment,  but  with  no 
result. 

This  barrow,  therefore,  appears  to  have  consisted  simply  of  a  mound 
of  stones  around  and  over  one  urn,  which  was  placed  in  the  centre, 
in  the  manner  described  above.  The  barrow,  however,  was  depressed 
a  little  just  over  the  urn,  and  the  person  who  exhumed  it  stated  that 
this  was  found  to  be  the  case  in  other  barrows  in  the  vicinity  from 
which  urns  had  been  taken. 

The  urn,  which  was  fortunately  recovered  by  Mr.  Cornish,  is  of  an 
*  "Antiquities  of  Cornwall,"  p.  207,  ed.  1752. 


Barrows  in  Cornwall.  93 

unusual  form  as  compared  with  others  found  in  Cornwall,  being  nearly 
cylindrical,  with  the  upper  rim  inclining  a  little  inwards,  and  orna- 
mented with  four  encircling  lines  of  dotting,  with  a  pretty  regular  and 
deep  zigzag  pattern  between.  The  greater  part  of  the  bottom  has  un- 
fortunately been  broken  away,  and  the  lower  part  of  one  side  is  also 
wanting.  This  urn  is  composed  of  a  coarse  clay  of  a  light  greyish 
brown  colour,  and  sun-dried. 

About  94  yards  north-west  of  the  barrow  last  described  is  another 
of  less  dimensions,  measuring  36  feet  in  diameter,  and  4  feet  in  height. 
To  this  we  now  transferred  our  labours,  and  cut  a  trench  from  the 
north  side,  which  had  recently  been  broken  into  by  persons  wanting 
stones  for  hedging,  into  the  centre,  which  was  depressed  similarly  to 
the  barrow  first  opened.  When  near  this  spot  we  found  traces  of 
burning,  and  among  the  stones  at  the  base  of  the  barrow  several  frag- 
ments of  bones,  some  probably  of  an  animal  about  the  size  of  an  ox, 
with  others  of  a  smaller  animal.*  No  regular  cell  appears  to  have 
been  constructed  to  contain  urn  or  ashes.  Near  the  bones  lay  the 
half  of  a  flint  pebble,  which  had  been  artificially  broken. 

This  barrow,  like  the  first,  consisted  of  stones  heaped  together 
without  any  attempt  at  order.  Its  surface  was  very  irregular,  owing 
probably  to  stones  being  from  time  to  time  carried  away  ;  but  the 
spot  where  the  bones  lay  did  not  appear  to  have  been  previously 
disturbed. 

Although  at  the  time  we  should  have  been  gratified  by  the  discovery 
of  an  urn  or  a  kistvaen,  the  result  of  our  labours  cannot  be  con- 
sidered unsatisfactory.  The  first  barrow  was  proved  to  contain  only 
one  urn,  and  in  the  second  it  appears  that  an  interment  had  taken 
place  without  any  careful  protection  being  made  for  the  ashes  of  the 
deceased. 

Mr.  Thomas  Wright  records  in  his  "  Essays  on  Archaeology,"  that 
after  bestowing  the  labour  of  several  men  for  more  than  a  week  on 
the  great  tumulus  of  St.  Weonard's,  he  found  nothing  more  than  bones 
and  ashes ;  and  numerous  instances  of  a  like  result  might  be  given 
respecting  other  grave-mounds. 

Whilst  referring  to  the  St.  Weonard's  tumulus,  it  may  be  worth  while 
to  notice  here  a  curious  feature  in  its  construction,  because  a  similar 
instance  occurred  at  Pelynt,  in  Cornwall.  Of  the  St.  Weonard's 
mound  Mr.  Wright  says  :  "  One  of  the  most  interesting  circumstances 
connected  with  the  cutting  itself  was  that  of  the  regular  discoloration 
visible  on  the  surface,  arising,  of  course,  from  the  employment  of 
different  kinds  of  material,  and  displaying  in  a  most  remarkable  manner 
the  mode  in  which  the  mound  was  raised." 

*  At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Archccological  Institute,  the  Rev.  W.  Greenwell,  in 
relating  the  results  of  his  examination  of  barrows  in  Yorkshire,  stated  :  "  In  one 
remarkable  instance  two  goats  had  been  deposited  with  the  corpse."  See  Geittlc- 
inans  Magazine,  June,  1865,  p.  730. 


94  Sepulchral  Remains. 


The  section  accompanying  the  description  shows  the  layers  of 
different  material.  The  barrow  at  Pelynt,  opened  in  1845,  is  de- 
scribed in  the  twenty-eighth  annual  report  of  the  Royal  Institution  of 
Cornwall.    The  writer,  the  late  Mr.  W.  H.  Box,  of  East  Looe,  states  : 

"  On  completing  the  trench  it  was  observed  that  each  of  its  sides 
was  marked  by  strata  of  different  colours,  extending  horizontally 
over  10  or  12  feet  of  its  centre.  The  uppermost  was  a  stiff  black 
loam,  varying  in  depth  from  3  to  4  inches,  with  large  pieces  of  char- 
coal imbedded  in  it ;  this  was  separated  by  a  layer  of  common  earth 
from  another  of  similar  dimensions  and  texture,  of  a  deep  orange 
colour,  which,  like  the  former,  rested  on  a  vein  of  earth.  Supporting 
these  was  a  third,  about  2  in.  in  depth,  that  from  its  light  grey 
appearance  was  at  first  thought  to  be  sand,  but  on  examination  was 
found  to  possess  more  of  the  character  of  clay  than  either  of  the 
former.  The  space  beneath  to  the  floor  of  the  barrow,  which  was 
18  to  20  in.,  was  occupied  by  a  bed  of  the  natural  soil.  The  origin 
of  these  coloured  veins  must  ever  remain  a  subject  for  conjecture. 
Their  uniform  extent  and  regularity  afford  strong  evidences  of  design 
in  their  arrangement;  and  as  the  surrounding  neighbourhood  furnishes 
no  soils  at  all  like  them,  either  in  colour  or  conformation,  we  cannot 
easily  imagine  them  to  be  composed  of  primitive  strata." 

Though  Dr.  Borlase  has  recorded  his  experience  in  opening  some 
barrows  in  Cornwall,  and  a  few  similar  narratives  may  be  found  in  the 
Reports  of  the  Royal  Institution  of  Cornwall,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  our  knowledge  of  the  internal  arrangement  of  Cornish  barrows 
hitherto  opened  has  been  gleaned  chiefly  from  the  labouring  classes, 
who  have  in  their  agricultural  or  mining  pursuits  accidentally  broken 
into  them.  It  would  be  desirable  to  investigate  others,  taking  careful 
notes  and  drawings  of  what  they  might  contain,  and  then  restore 
them,  as  far  as  possible,  to  their  original  condition,  replacing  bones 
and  rebuilding  the  mounds. 

J.  T.  Blight. 


'& 


King-barrow,  near  Wareham,  Dorsetshire. 

[1767,//.  53,54.] 

On  digging  down  King-barrow,  January  21,  1767,  at' the  south  end 
of  Stowborough,  near  Wareham,  in  Dorsetshire,  in  the  road  to  Grange, 
to  make  the  turnpike-road,  the  following  discovery  was  made.  The 
barrow  was  100  feet  in  diameter,  its  perpendicular  height  12.  In 
the  centre,  at  the  bottom,  even  with  the  surface  of  the  ground,  in  the 
natural  soil  of  sand,  was  found  a  very  large  hollow  trunk  of  an  oak, 
rudely  excavated,  but  probably  by  hand,  10  feet  long;  the  diameter, 
from  out  to  out,  was  4  feet ;  that  of  the  cavity,  3  feet :  it  lay  hori- 
zontally, S.E.  to  N.W.:  the  upper  parts  of  the  ends  were  much  rotted. 
The  barrow  was  composed  of  strata,  on  layers  of  turf,  in  some  of 
which  the  heath  was  not  perished.     In  the  cavity  were  found  as 


Barrows  in  DorsetsJdre.  95 

many  human  bones  as  might  be  contained  in  a  quarter  of  a  peck, 
about  12  in  number,  viz.,  an  arm-bone,  two  thigh-bones,  two  blade- 
bones,  the  head  of  the  humerus,  part  of  the  pelvis,  and  several  rib- 
bones.  They  were  unburnt,  soft,  and  black;  the  ribs  would  lap  round 
one's  finger.  There  were  no  remains  of  the  skull  ;  many  were  scat- 
tered and  lost,  more  were  entirely  consumed.  These  bones  were 
wrapped  up  in  a  large  covering,  composed  of  several  skins,  some  as 
thin  as  parchment ;  others,  especially  where  the  hair  remained  (which 
showed  they  were  deer-skins),  were  much  thicker;  they  were  generally 
black,  and  not  rotten ;  they  were  neatly  sown  together,  and  there 
were  many  small  slips  whose  seams  or  stitches  were  scarce  two  inches 
asunder.  As  the  labourers  expected  to  find  money,  they  were  pulled 
out  with  much  eagerness  and  torn,  so  that  the  shape  of  the  whole 
could  not  be  discovered.  This  covering  seemed  to  have  been 
wrapped  several  times  round  the  body,  and  in  some  parts  adhered  to 
the  trunk  :  in  the  middle  of  which  covering  most  of  the  bones  were 
compressed  flat  in  a  lump,  and  cemented  together  by  a  glutinous 
matter,  perhaps  the  moisture  of  the  body,  which  was  not  inflammable. 
The  covering  did  not  reach  to  the  N.W.  end,  and  perhaps  not  much 
beyond  the  body,  towards  which  the  thigh-bone  was  found ;  this, 
and  the  situation  of  the  urn,  may  determine  the  position  of  the  body. 
On  unfolding  it,  a  disagreeable  smell  was  perceived,  such  as  is  usual 
at  the  first  opening  a  vault ;  near  the  S.E.  end  was  found  a  small 
vessel  of  oak,  the  colour  black  ;  it  was  much  broken,  but  enough 
preserved  to  show  it  was  in  the  shape  of  an  urn  (a  specimen  of 
which  is  here  presented).  On  the  outside  were  hatched  (no  doubt 
with  a  graver)  many  lines,  some  horizontal  and  others  oblique  : 
its  longest  diameter  at  the  mouth  was  three  inches  ;  the  short 
one,  two  ;  its  depth,  two  ;  its  thickness,  two-tenths  of  an  inch.  It 
was  probably  placed  at  the  head  of  the  corpse.  There  was  no 
appearance  of  any  ashes  in  it,  or  any  part  of  the  covering.  There 
was  a  piece  of  gold-lace,  as  imagined,  four  inches  long  and  two 
and  a  half  broad,  stuck  on  the  covering  in  the  inside,  black  and 
much  decayed.  Bits  of  wire  appeared  in  it,  and  here  were  no 
fragments  of  brass  or  iron  from  whence  one  might  have  concluded 
any  arms  or  armour  were  deposited  here. 

A.D.  876  the  Danes  possessed  themselves  of  Wareham.  Next 
year,  King  Alfred  besieged  them  there,  and,  partly  by  force  and 
partly  by  treaty,  obliged  them  to  quit  that  place.  During  this  time 
the  barrow  was  probably  thrown  up  over  a  person  who  died  or  was 
killed  in  some  action.  The  largeness  of  the  barrow  evidences  that 
the  person  interred  under  it  was  a  person  of  note  and  distinction, 
perhaps  a  general  officer.  The  opinion  of  the  learned  is  desired 
concerning  this  extraordinary  manner  of  interment,  and  some  in- 
formation whether  a  similar  instance  occurs  in  this  kingdom. 

John  Hutchins. 


96  Sepulchral  Remains. 

Antiquities  in  Sussex  like  those  in  Dorsetshire. 

[1768,/.  2S4.] 

Of  the  many  essays  on  the  natural  history  and  antiquities  of  differ- 
ent parts  of  England  that  have  from  time  to  time  been  published  in 
your  Magazine,  none  has  given  me  greater  pleasure,  on  perusal,  than 
the  account  of  the  Dorsetshire  antiquities  and  natural  curiosities, 
inserted  m  the  Magazine  for  March  last  [see  ante,  p.  94] ;  as  some 
particulars  in  it  seem  to  correspond  with  others  of  the  like  kind  in 
Sussex, 

Pits  of  the  same  form  are  to  be  seen  on  several  parts  of  the  South 
Downs ;  but  the  most  that  I  have  observed  are  on  that  part  that  lies 
betw^een  the  rivers  Ouse  and  Adur,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lewes, 
Brighthelmstone,  etc.,  but  have  taken  notice  of  none  so  large  as  those 
of  Dorsetshire  are  said  to  be,  nor  do  they  lie  so  closely  conjoined 
together.  For  what  use  these  pits  were  designed,  or  by  whom  made, 
is  perhaps  difficult  to  be  known  ;  but  one  thing  seems  very  plain,  and 
that  is,  that  they  were  made  by  art,  as  the  soil  is  firm  and  chalky.  At 
my  first  viewing  them,  I  readily  concluded  that  they  were  the  work 
of  some  remote  age ;  and,  perhaps,  nothing  more  probable  than  for 
them  to  be  made  by  the  Britons  for  some  religious  use. 

All  along  the  sea-coast,  between  Shoreham  and  Brighthelmstone, 
is  found  washed  up  by  the  sea  a  bituminous  substance  (exactly  agree- 
ing with  the  description  of  the  Kimerage  coal)  called  by  the  inhabi- 
tants Strumbolo,  and  which,  till  of  late  years,  was  the  chief  fuel  of 
the  poor  inhabitants  of  Brighthelmstone,  who  were  very  careful  to 
pick  it  up  after  it  was  brought  up  by  the  tide ;  but  since  that  town 
has  become  more  populous,  by  the  resort  of  gentry,  it  has  grown  out 
of  use,  on  account  of  the  nauseous  smell  it  emits  at  burning.  As  no 
stratum  of  this  fossil  is  to  be  found  in  the  cliffs  on  the  coast  of  Sussex, 
it  must  consequently  form  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and,  by  the  violent 
agitation  of  the  water,  be  torn  up,  and  brought  on  shore  by  the  tide. 

On  almost  all  parts  of  the  South  Downs  may  be  seen  a  great 
number  of  barrows,  some  of  which  are  large  and  scattered  singly,  here 
and  there  one ;  on  other  parts  they  are  smaller,  and  a  great  many 
near  together ;  they  are  chiefly  of  a  round  form,  with  a  trench  round 
their  basis,  and  a  circular  cavity  on  their  top.  There  are  likewise 
some  few  of  the  long  kind,  the  longest  of  which,  that  I  have  seen,  is 
on  the  hill  near  Aldfriston,  which  is  about  130  feet  in  length.  It  has 
three  cavities  on  the  top,  like  those  of  the  round  fashion,  one  being 
at  each  end,  and  the  other  near  the  middle,  with  a  ditch  on  each 
side,  A  few  years  since,  this  barrow  was  opened  in  part  at  the  north 
end,  but  no  signs  of  interment  discovered. 

Whether  Britons,  Romans,  or  Danes  had  the  greatest  share  in 
erecting  these  lasting  monuments  to  the  dead  there  is  perhaps  no 
certain  proof  of,  as  it  is  agreed  that  they  all  erected  such  monuments, 


Ancient  Barrows.  97 

and  all  adopted  the  custom  of  cremation  and  depositing  the  ashes  in 
an  urn. 

According  to  Olaus  Wormius,  the  Danes  raised  long  barrows  over 
their  sea-commanders  who  died,  or  were  slain  in  battle,  they  being 
made  to  represent  a  ship,  as  a  distinguishing  mark  of  honour  from 
other  officers,  who  probably  had  other  forms  of  interment. 

Yours,  etc.  Stephen  Vine. 

[1768,//.  608,  609.] 

Mr.  Hutchins  inserted  in  your  magazine  for  March  last  the  dimen- 
sions of  a  vast  long  barrow  at  Shipton  Hill,  Dorset,  which  he 
compares  to  a  large  ship  turned  bottom  upwards  \  and  Mr.  Vine  in 
June  last  mentions  a  similar  shaped  one  of  much  smaller  proportions 
in  Sussex.  In  Salmon's  "  Survey  of  England,"  p.  618,  is  the  following 
account  of  another  in  Northumberland  :  your  inserting  of  which  may 
induce  some  of  your  correspondents  to  favour  the  public  with  its 
exact  dimensions  :  "  At  Haltwesel,  near  the  West  of  Northumberland, 
upon  an  eminence  above  South  Tyne,  is  a  remarkable  barrow  of  the 
long  kind,  such  as  01.  Wormius  has  described.  That  author  tells  us 
it  was  the  practice  in  Scandinavia,  and  that  part  of  the  north,  to  make 
sometimes  long  barrows  as  well  as  round.  The  long  were  in  imita- 
tion of  a  ship.  This,  which  the  swains  there  call  Castle  Hill,  is  not 
in  form  of  a  castle,  nor  of  a  defensible  shape,  but  made  for 
victory  and  triumph.  It  bulges  out  on  each  side  like  a  ship,  is  con- 
tracted at  both  ends,  and  is  lower  in  the  middle  than  at  the  head 
and  stern.  Whether  this  last  circumstance  is  by  accident  or  design 
I  don't  take  upon  me  to  say.  But  as  the  Danes  have  been  here- 
abouts, 'tis  probable  upon  some  considerable  success  they  erected 
this  monument."  The  passage  of  Wormius  referred  to,  I  suppose, 
is  in  Mon.  Dan.,  p.  42.  '■'■Regios  tumulos  ad  magnitudinem  et figurant 
carbice  maxima:  navis  ex  Us  quas  possidebant,  fabricatos  vohiiit"  This 
shape  he  confines  to  the  tomb  of  kings,  and  to  the  earlier  age  when 
the  dead  were  burnt.  Perhaps  the  name  of  Shipton  might  be  given 
to  the  Dorsetshire  hill  from  its  form.  It  is  250  feet  longer  than  Sil- 
bury,  and  does  not  appear  in  Taylor's  map. 

Other  passages  in  Wormius,  p.  41,  may  throw  light  upon  the  great 
barrow  in  the  Isle  of  Purbeck,  described  in  your  magazine,  April, 
1767.  "  In  locis  saxosis  et  maritimis  ex  lapidum  et  aren^e  congerie 
monticulos  struxerunt ;  in  pinguioribus  ex  terra  fertili  rarioribus 
additis  saxis,  basin,  coronse  instar,  cingentibus."  Of  this  last  sort  was 
one  containing  urns  near  a  village  in  Zealand  called  Eggerup.* 
Another  sort  were  hillocks  of  earth  in  a  circle  of  large  stones,  with 
turf  and  stones  on  the  outer  surface.  These  contained  bodies,  which 
were  sometimes  lodged  in  rude-stone  vaults  under  the  surface,  and 
sometimes  had  a  kind  of  stone  cell  erected  over  them  without.     The 

*  Prope  Crucis  oram.  I  don't  understand  this  last  name  ;  but  in  De  Wit's  map 
of  Denmark,  Aagarug  is  placed  not  far  from  Roschild. 

VOL.  V.  7 


98  Sepulchral  Remains. 

Purbeck  barrow  answers  in  some  respects  to  both  these ;  but  chiefly 
in  its  name  to  the  village  near  the  former.  Egger,  or  Agger,  is  a 
name  not  unfrequent  in  Zealand.  Besides  this  village,  there  is  a 
little  island  on  the  S.W.  coast  called  Agger.  In  Dorsetshire  we  have 
a  hundred  called  Eggerton,  or  Eggarton,  probably  from  the  consider- 
able camp  on  Eggerton*  or  Aggarton  hill;  Eggerton  or  Eggarton  in 
Cheshire,  whence  the  noble  family  of  Bridgewater  derive  theirname; 
Eggerton  near  Charing  in  Kent.  Length  of  time  will  change  the  r 
into  //  and  so  we  come  by  Egglestone  or  Agglestone,  the  first  of 
Avhich  occurs  in  Dorset,  near  Kimeridge.  Hang  is  Danish  for  a 
hill,  and  the  period  in  which  the  dead  were  buried  under  barrows  is 
called  ffimgs  auld,  i.e.,  the  age  of  hills.  (Bartholinus.)  Eggar  may 
be  a  corruption  of  the  Latin  word  Agger.,  and  so  alike  applicable  to  a 
barrow  or  a  camp.  I  am  somewhat  inclined  to  think  it  conceals  the 
name  of  a  person,  because  a  similar  barrow  in  its  neighbourhood,  once 
surmounted  by  a  small  stone,  bears  the  name  of  Puck,  which  is 
probably  the  corruption  of  some  other  appellative.  The  least 
reflection  on  the  situation  of  rock-basins,  would  show  they  could 
never  have  been  here.  They  are  found  on  natural  hills,  and  in  a 
more  wild  and  rocky  part  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Vine  [August,  1763,  p.  396]  speaks  of  knives  found  in  the 
Sussex  barrows.  Wormius  describes  daggers  (pugiones),  some  2  spans, 
others  15  inches  long,  found  in  Danish  ones.  If  you  will  insert  the 
enclosed  outlines  of  two  from  his  Mon.  Dan.,  p.  50,  you  will  give  Mr. 

V an    opportunity    of    informing    the    public   whether   those 

instruments  in  Mr.  Lucas's  possession  are  like  them. 

Mr.  H describes  a  circle  of  stones  at  Winterburn  Abbey  in 

Dorset :  Dr.  Stukeley  in  his  Abury,  p.  45,  part  of  two  concentric  circles 
at  Winterburn  Basset,  Wilts.  The  stones  remaining  in  each  bear  the 
same  proportion  to  each  other,  but  the  diameter  of  the  Wiltshire  one 

is  greatest.     Dr.  S 's  lie  north  of  Abury,  and  Mr.  H 's  north 

of  some  other  stones  which  may  have  formed  a  considerable  circle. 
Had  Dr.  Stukeley  made  the  same  search  in  this  as  he  did  in  other 
counties,  we  should  doubtless  have  had  as  curious  discoveries.  I 
cannot,  therefore,  conclude  these  observations  without  regretting  the 

hard  fate  of  Mr.  H 's  elaborate  histor}',  that  it  is  so  long  withheld 

from  the  public,  to  whom  he  is  forced  to  deal  it  out  by  such  piece- 
meal anticipation.  D.  H. 

Barrows  in  Dorsetshire. 

[1790,  Part  II.,  pp.  S97-901.] 

If  the  life  of  man  be  short,  as  it  is  termed  in  Scripture,  it  is 
a  wish  congenial  to  his  heart,  that  his  memory  at  least  should  be 
of  long  continuance.      This  sentiment    accounts   for   the  universal 

*  Coker  spells  it  Edgarton,  which  seems  wrong. 


Barrows  in  Dorsetshire.  99 

practice  of  raising  sepulchral  monuments,  and  is  finely  illustrated  by 
the  plaintive  Gray : 

For  who,  to  dumb  forgetfulness  a  prey, 
This  pleasing,  anxious  being  e'er  resigned  ; 

Left  the  warm  precincts  of  the  cheerful  day, 
Nor  cast  one  longing,  ling'ring  look  behind  ? 

The  most  simple  and  natural  kind  of  sepulchral  monument,  and 
therefore  the  most  ancient  and  universal,  consists  in  a  mound  of 
earth,  or  a  heap  of  stones,  raised  over  the  remains  of  the  deceased. 
Of  such  monuments  mention  is  made  in  the  Book  of  Joshua,  and  in 
the  poems  of  Homer,  Virgil,  and  Horace ;  and  of  such,  instances 
occur  in  every  part  of  this  kingdom,  especially  in  those  elevated 
and  sequestered  situations  where  they  have  neither  been  defaced  by 
agriculture  nor  inundations.  It  has  often  been  a  subject  of  surprise 
to  me  that,  in  an  age  marked  by  its  taste  for  antiquarian  researches, 
greater  attention  should  not  have  been  paid  to  these  most  ancient 
and  genuine  records  of  past  ages,  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  ascertain  to 
which  of  the  successive  inhabitants  of  this  island  they  are  to  be 
ascribed,  or  whether,  in  fact,  they  are  the  work  of  more  than  one 
people.  This  can  only  be  done  by  an  examination  of  the  contents  of 
several  of  them  in  different  counties,  and  in  different  situations,  by 
persons  whose  learning,  ingenuity,  and  attention  qualify  them  for  the 
task.  In  searching,  however,  into  these  rude  memorials  of  our 
forefathers,  the  true  antiquary  will  ever  respect  their  remains  ;  and, 
whilst  he  enters  into  their  views  by  endeavouring  to  revive  their 
memory,  he  will  also  as  far  as  possible  consult  their  wishes,  in 
leaving  to  their  bones  their  ancient  place  of  sepulture. 

Having  been  lately  on  a  visit  to  a  gentleman  in  Dorsetshire,  on 
whose  estate  an  incredible  number  of  these  barrows  are  found,  he 
kindly  complied  with  my  wishes  in  causing  several  of  them  to  be 
opened.  I  shall  first  describe,  in  the  most  accurate  manner  I  am 
able,  the  contents  of  the  several  barrows  ;  and  then  give  such  con- 
jectures as  occur  to  me  concerning  the  people  to  whom  they 
belonged ;  not  without  a  view,  however,  that  greater  hght  may  here- 
after be  thrown  on  the  subject  by  persons  whose  experience  and 
information  in  this  branch  of  antiquarian  study  are  superior  to  my  own. 

We  began  with  two  barrows  of  no  great  dimensions,  opposite  to 
East  Lullworth,  on  a  level  piece  of  ground  that  is  met  with  in  the 
ascent  up  of  a  steep  and  lofty  mountain,  the  top  of  which  is  crowned 
with  a  bold  double  entrenchment,  of  Roman  or  Barbaric  workman- 
ship, and  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  Flower's  barrow.  If  we 
pay  any  regard  to  the  conjectures  of  Hutchins,  in  his  "  History  of 
Dorsetshire,"  who  derives  the  name  of  Flower's  barrow  from  a 
supposed  Roman  general  of  the  name  of  Florus,  the  question  will  be 
solved  at  once  what  people  raised  this  strong  intrenchment ;  and  it 
will  afford  some  kind  of  presumptive  proof  that  the  barrows  below 

7—2 


lOO  Sepulchral  Remains. 

contained  Roman  remains.  But  we  are  to  observe,  that  he  produces 
no  proof  whatever  of  any  Roman  general  of  the  name  of  Florus 
ever  having  been  in  those  parts  ;  nor  does  the  figure  of  the  camp 
affect  the  Roman  quadrangle,  but  seems  rather  to  humour  the  natural 
shape  of  the  hill.  Indeed,  part  of  it,  by  some  convulsion  of  nature, 
appears  to  have  sunk  below  its  original  level,  while  no  small  portion 
of  it  has  fallen  into  the  sea  below,  which,  at  the  depth  of  700  feet, 
is  for  ever  undermining  its  rocky  base.  In  these  two  barrows  we 
found  promiscuously  scattered  perfect  human  teeth,  burnt  human 
bones,  together  with  those  of  animals,  such  as  pieces  of  the  jawbones 
of  horses  or  oxen,  teeth  of  the  same  animals,  tusks  of  boars,  small 
round  stones  of  the  Portland  kind,  not  bigger  than  children's  marbles, 
pointed  stones  that  possibly  have  been  the  heads  of  weapons,  certain 
lumps  of  corroded  metal,  seemingly  iron,  but  of  an  undetermined 
shape,  a  few  particles  of  yellow  metal,  which  being  lost  could  not 
undergo  the  assay  ;  some  crumbling  pieces  of  dark-coloured  unburnt 
urns,  together  with  a  few  lumps  of  brick  or  earthenware  that  appeared 
to  have  been  well  burnt.  In  addition  to  all  this,  we  perceived  a 
considerable  quantity  of  fine,  rich,  black  earth,  with  a  certain  white 
mouldiness  between  the  particles,  which  must  have  been  fetched 
from  a  considerable  distance,  and  which  I  have  invariably  found 
strewed  over  the  remains  of  the  dead  in  these  ancient  sepulchres. 
The  bottom  of  one  of  these  graves  was  paved  with  large  round  stones, 
that  had  been  worked  smooth  by  the  action  of  the  sea,  and  which 
apparently  had  been  fetched  from  the  adjacent  shore. 

From  the  confused  state  in  which  we  found  the  contents  of  these 
two  barrows,  which  indeed  were  situated  near  what  had  formerly  been 
an  inhabited  spot,  as  the  name  of  Arish  Mill  indicates,  we  were 
satisfied  they  had  been  in  some  past  time  disturbed  ;  we  therefore 
determined  to  make  our  next  research  in  a  more  remote  and 
inaccessible  situation.  With  this  view  we  pitched  upon  a  large 
barrow,  being  12  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  and  200  feet  in 
circumference,  situated  at  the  highest  point  of  a  lofty  mountain 
about  midway  between  the  Points  of  Portland  and  Purbeck  Islands. 
This  tumulus  is  known  in  the  country  by  the  name  of  Hambury-taut, 
or  toote,  the  first  of  which  words,  I  conjecture,  may  be  the  name  of 
the  chieftain  there  buried,  while  the  other  two  appear  to  be  the 
corruption  of  Saxon  and  British  words  expressive  of  a  barrow. 
Many  of  the  same  articles  were  found  on  the  surface  and  at  the 
extremities  of  this,  as  in  the  former  barrows,  such  as  burnt  human 
bones,  bits  of  metal,  etc.  ;  but  on  our  approaching  to  the  centre,  at 
about  the  depth  of  4  feet  from  the  surface,  a  skeleton  appeared,  in 
perfect  preservation,  lying  with  its  head  to  the  north,  but  so  tender 
as  to  crumble  into  dust  with  the  least  pressure ;  its  posture,  which 
was  that  of  a  person  sleeping  on  his  side,  with  the  feet  rather  drawn 
up,  one  hand  resting  on  its  breast,  the  other  on  its  hip,  prevented  it 


Barrows  in  Dorsetshire.  loi 

from  being  accurately  measured.  The  account  of  the  people,  how- 
ever, employed  in  digging,  we  found  afterwards,  had  magnified  it  to 
the  size  of  7,  and  even  of  8  feet.  But  what  may  be  said  with 
certainty  is,  that  the  thigh-bone  measured  20  inches,  which  in  a 
well-proportioned  man,  I  find,  gives  a  height  of  6  feet  and  about  as 
many  inches.  One  of  the  leg-bones  appeared  to  have  been  fractured ; 
but  whether  this  had  happened  by  some  wound  in  war,  or  by  some 
accident  at  the  funeral,  or  by  the  weight  of  the  superincumbent 
earth,  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  On  the  breast  of  the  skeleton 
was  deposited  a  rude  urn,  too  much  decayed  to  be  handled  without 
falling  to  pieces,  of  about  the  measure  of  two  quarts,  but  empty  of 
ever)  thing  except  the  same  fine  mould  that  covered  the  skeleton. 
Near  the  neck  oi  the  latter  were  found  many  of  the  round  stones  I 
have  before  mentioned,  but  of  different  sizes,  from  that  of  a  pigeon's 
egg  down  to  that  of  a  pea.  As  they  were  imperforated,  it  is  not 
improbable  they  had  once  been  covered  with  metal,  in  which  state 
they  might  have  formed  a  necklace,  or  any  similar  ornament.  The 
substance  of  the  barrow,  as  high  as  the  site  of  the  body,  was  formed 
of  flints  and  stones,  into  which  a  shaft  was  sunk  to  a  considerable 
depth,  but  without  finding  anything  worth  notice.  The  next  day, 
however,  the  country  people,  who  had  witnessed  the  diligence  of 
our  researches,  which  they  conceived  must  have  had  an  object 
of  greater  value  in  view  than  bones  and  earthen  vessels,  being 
encouraged,  moreover,  by  a  popular  tradition  that  a  treasure  lies 
hidden  in  the  earth  somewhere  between  Weymouth  and  Purbeck 
Island,  they  assembled,  I  say,  and  dug  to  the  very  bottom  of  the 
centre  of  the  barrow,  where  they  found  nothing  but  a  large  heap  of 
ashes,  in  all  probability  the  remains  of  a  funeral  pile  which  had  been 
erected  on  that  spot.  Another  small  barrow,  that  was  opened  the 
same  day,  yielded  nothing  but  bones  and  broken  urns. 

Unavoidable  business  calling  me  home  at  the  end  of  the  week,  my 
respected  friend  communicated  to  me,  by  letter,  the  result  of  his 
searches  the  ensuing  vreek,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"On  the  Thursday  after  you  left  us,  we  pitched  our  tent  near 
another  of  those  barrows,  and  set  to  work  upon  it.  We  discovered, 
at  about  the  depth  of  2  feet,  no  less  than  five  distinct  skeletons : 
three  of  them  were  in  a  row,  lying  on  their  backs,  two  of  which 
appeared  to  be  of  the  common  size,  but  that  in  the  middle  was  a 
small  one,  probably  of  some  young  person.  The  two  others  were  at 
the  distance  of  a  few  feet  from  these,  of  the  ordinary  size,  with  the 
head  of  one  lying  on  the  breast  of  the  other.  Each  of  the  skeletons 
had  an  urn  upon  it ;  but  these  were  so  perished,  that  upon  being 
touched  they  fell  into  earth,  except  a  few  pieces  near  the  top  rim  of 
one  of  them,  which  I  have  preserved  for  your  inspection.  Under  the 
head  of  one  of  the  three  that  lay  in  a  row  we  found  a  small  earthen 
urn,  about  the  size  of  the  cup  part  of  an  ordinary  wine-glass." 


102  Sepulchral  Remains. 

I  have  only  to  add  to  this  account  that  the  small  urn  just 
mentioned,  which  was  of  the  same  shape  with  the  rest  we  found, 
namely,  that  of  a  truncated  cone,  was  about  2  inches  high,  and  i  in 
diameter,  and  that,  though  nicely  covered  with  the  shell  of  a  limpet, 
it  was  quite  empty :  likewise  that  the  broken  pieces  of  urn  were 
ornamented  by  being  rudely  indented  in  a  zigzag  fashion ;  and  that 
the  five  skeletons  were  not  all  exactly  on  the  same  level  in  the  barrow, 
which  appears  to  have  been  a  family  sepulchre,  but  that  the  two  last- 
mentioned  seemed  to  have  been  deposited  in  the  side  of  the  barrow 
without  taking  it  to  pieces. 

Five  or  six  other  barrows  in  the  same  neighbourhood  have  since 
been  opened  by  the  same  gentleman  ;  but,  as  the  contents  of  them 
all  were  nearly  the  same,  I  shall  satisfy  myself  with  giving  an  account 
of  one  of  them,  which  was  opened  in  my  presence.  It  was  one  out 
of  three  which  stood  in  a  line  at  about  the  distance  of  150  feet  fron.1 
each  other,  being  about  the  same  number  of  feet  in  circumference, 
and  about  10  in  perpendicular  height.  On  a  shaft  being  cut  to  the 
centre  of  the  barrow,  we  found  a  kind  of  rude  vault,  or  kistvaeii 
formed  with  unhewed  stones,  enclosing  an  urn  capable  of  holding 
about  two  gallons,  and  full  of  burnt  human  bones,  being  covered  at 
the  top  with  a  thin,  flat  stone,  and  having  a  quantity  of  the  roots  of 
quilch-grass,  undecayed,  near  it,  which  also  frequently  occurred  in  the 
other  barrows.  The  urn  in  question  was  composed  of  a  coarse  black 
clay,  of  the  shape  above-described,  and  did  not  seem  either  to  have 
been  turned  with  a  lathe,  or  burnt  in  a  kiln,  but  merely  hardened  by 
fire  or  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Of  the  same  substance  and  form  were  all 
the  other  urns  discovered  in  this  neighbourhood :  there  was  this 
difference,  however,  in  their  position,  that  some  of  them  stood 
upright,  and  others  were  found  inverted. 

The  uniformity  observed  in  the  barrows  I  have  described,  in 
shape,  situation,  apparent  antiquity,  and,  to  a  certain  degree,  in 
contents,  seems  to  argue  that  these  at  least  were  the  work  of  one  and 
the  same  people.  Who  these  were  remains  now  to  be  considered. 
I  think  it  is  plain  they  could  not  have  been  the  Romans ;  for  though 
these  were  in  the  practice  both  of  burying  and  burning  their  dead 
entire,  as  appears  from  the  Twelve  Tables,  and  from  other 
monuments,  yet  the  rudeness  of  the  present  urns,  so  unlike  the  neat, 
polished  ones  I  discovered  last  year  near  this  city,  together  with  true 
Roman  fibulas,  coins,  etc.,  and  which  have  been  honoured  vvith  a 
place  in  the  Vetusta  Monumenta  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  ;  the 
situation  of  these  sepulchres  on  lofty  mountains  and  sequestered 
mounds,  whereas  the  Romans  afiected  to  bury  near  cities  and  close 
to  highways;  add  to  this,  there  being  no  sepulchral  lamps,  lacry- 
matories,  coins,  or  other  tokens  of  Roman  sepulture ;  all  these 
circumstances,  I  say,  point  out  barbarians,  and  not  Romans,  as  the 
constructors  of  these  barrows.     We  must  therefore  ascribe  them  to 


Barrows  in  Dorseishire. 


one  of  the  three  following  nations,  viz.,  the  Britons,  the  Saxons,  or 
the  Danes ;  and  we  must  attribute  these  works  to  one  of  them 
previous  to  its  conversion  to  Christianity,  as,  wherever  the  Christian 
religion  prevailed,  it  immediately  banished  the  Pagan  rite  of  burning 
the  dead,  as  appears  from  many  Canons  of  Councils  to  this  effect, 
and  introduced  the  use  of  common  cemeteries  consecrated  to  this 
purpose.  Of  the  above-mentioned  nations,  the  Danes  seem  to  have 
the  weakest  claim  to  these  numerous  barrows,  as  (independent  of 
other  arguments  that  will  occur  below)  they  never  seem  to  have  been 
stationary  in  this  part  of  the  kingdom  for  any  considerable  time  till 
their  princes  and  the  nation  in  general  professed  themselves 
Christians  ;  whereas  in  the  above-mentioned  barrows  there  is  even 
some  appearance  of  family  sepulchres.  It  remains,  then,  to  consider 
whether  it  is  more  reasonable  to  attribute  these  ancient  monuments 
to  the  Britons  previous  to  their  adopting  the  manners  of  their 
conquerors  the  Romans,  or  to  their  more  fatal  enemies  our  Saxon 
ancestors.  For  my  part,  I  think  there  are  more  and  stronger 
arguments  for  ascribing  them  to  the  former  than  to  the  latter  people. 
For  though  both  the  Celts  or  Gauls,  of  whom  the  Britons  were 
evidently  a  tribe,  as  appears  from  the  uniformity  of  their  language 
and  of  their  civil  and  religious  rites,  and  the  Germans,  of  whom  the 
Saxons  formed  an  illustrious  portion,  were  both  in  the  practice  of  at 
least  occasionally  using  funeral  piles,  barrows,  and  urns ;  as 
Montfaucon  has  discovered  in  regard  to  the  Gauls,  and  Gronovius 
with  other  German  antiquaries  in  respect  to  their  forefathers ;  yet 
there  is  this  striking  difference  between  the  two  people,  that  the 
former,  according  to  Caesar,  were  fond  of  the  pomp  of  funerals, 
sacrificing  various  animals  as  well  as  men  on  the  occasion,  and 
burying  with  the  dead  whatever  they  had  that  was  most  precious  : 
whereas  the  latter,  according  to  Tacitus,  despised  the  fruitless 
ambition,  as  they  considered  it,  of  magnificent  funerals ;  and  it  was 
only  on  some  extraordinary  occasion  that  the  warrior's  horse  was 
buried  with  his  master,  Morton  adds,  that  the  Saxons  had  laid 
aside  the  custom  of  burning  their  dead  previous  to  their  invasion  of 
this  island;  but  whether  the  last-mentioned  assertion  rests  upon 
sufficient  proof,  or  not,  I  think  the  evident  consequences  to  be 
deduced  from  what  has  been  alleged  above,  when  considered  with 
respect  to  the  contents  of  the  barrows  in  question,  likewise  the  very 
great  antiquity  of  these  barrows,  manifest  by  the  condition  of  the 
metal,  bones,  and  urns  found  in  them.  Again,  the  coarseness  and 
rudeness  of  these  urns,  which,  in  my  opinion,  rather  bespeak  the 
manufacture  of  the  savage  Britons  than  of  the  Saxons,  who  by  their 
very  piracies  upon  civilized  nations  were  a  polished  people  at  their 
conquest  of  this  island,  compared  with  the  former  six  hundred  years 
before ;  and,  above  all,  the  conformity  between  these  barrows  and 
those  opened  by  Dr.  Stukeley  and  others  in  the  neighbourhood  of 


104  Septdchral  Remams. 

Stonehenge :  all  these  circumstances,  I  say,  considered  together, 
induce  me  to  attribute  the  barrows  I  have  described  to  the  aborigines 
of  this  island,  the  Britons,  rather  than  to  the  Saxons,  or  any  later 
people.  With  respect  to  the  argument  I  have  drawn  from  the 
conformity  between  these  barrows  and  those  near  Stonehenge,  I  take 
it  for  granted  that  this  stupendous  pile  of  barbaric  magnificence  is 
allowed  to  have  been  a  Druidical  temple ;  and  that  the  barrows  with 
which  it  is  surrounded  had  some  relation  with  it,  and  belonged  to  the 
same  people  by  whom  it  was  constructed. 

A  very  great  difficulty,  however,  remains  to  be  explained,  which  is, 
that  some  of  these  barrows  contained  nothing  but  urns  full  of  burnt 
bones,  while  others  contained  entire  skeletons,  with  urns  placed  upon 
them,  and  with  burnt  human  bones,  charcoal,  and  ashes,  scattered 
throughout  the  tumulus.  To  account  for  this  I  must  refer  to  the 
authorities  adduced  by  the  learned  and  ingenious  author  of  the 
"  History  of  Manchester,"  to  prove  that  the  ancient  Britons  were  in 
the  habit  of  using  both  rites  of  funeral,  that  of  burning  and  that  of 
burying  entire.  It  is  probable  that,  at  Hambury  Toote,  and  such 
other  barrows  as  contain  vestiges  of  both  practices,  the  captives, 
slaves,  and  animals,  destined  to  appease  the  manes  of  the  deceased 
chieftain,  or  to  accompany  his  departed  spirit,  were  killed  and  burnt 
on  the  spot,  and  that  afterwards  a  barrow  was  raised  over  their  ashes, 
near  the  summit  of  which  the  body  of  the  chieftain  himself  was 
buried  entire.  The  urn  placed  on  the  breast  of  the  corpse  probably 
contained  ointments,  or  valuable  articles  belonging  to  the  deceased, 
in  conformity  with  Caesar's  account  of  the  British  funerals.  This 
conjecture  is  confirmed,  in  my  opinion,  by  the  diminutive  size  of  the 
small  urn  covered  with  a  limpet  shell,  mentioned  above,  as  it  appears 
too  small  to  have  answered  any  other  purpose  we  are  acquainted 
with.  It  is  possible  that  one  of  those  horrid  sacrifices,  which  the 
author  just  quoted  describes,  might  have  made  part  of  the  funeral 
rite  performed  at  some  of  these  barrows,  in  which  a  considerable 
number  of  human  victims  were  enclosed  in  a  kind  of  cage  made  of 
basket-work,  and  burnt  alive,  in  order  to  render  propitious  the 
bloodthirsty  deities  of  the  Druids.  John  Milner. 

British  Antiquities  at  Winford  Eagle,  Dorset. 

[1827,  Part  II.,  fp.  99,  100.] 

I  cannot  help  sincerely  joining  in  the  wish  expressed  by  your  vener- 
able correspondent  R.  C.  H.  [see  Note  10]  in  one  of  your  late  num- 
bers, that  the  Antiquities  of  the  County  of  Dorset  should  meet  with 
a  more  adequate  investigation  than  has  hitherto  been  presented  to  the 
public  ;  for  I  believe  that,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  Wiltshire, 
there  will  not  be  found  a  district  in  this  kingdom  which  presents  more 
numerous  and  more  evident  traces  of  the  Ancient  Britons,  as  well  as 
of  the  Romans. 


BiHtish  Antiquities  at   Winford  Eagle,        105 

By  way  of  rescuing  from  oblivion  a  discovery  which  has  lately  been 
made  in  that  county,  I  send  you  the  accompanying  rude  sketches, 
with  a  statement,  which,  if  you  think  proper,  may  be  inserted  among 
your  valuable  records  of  antiquity. 

These  remains  were  brought  to  light  in  the  month  of  September 
last,  upon  an  estate  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  Best,  in  the  parish  of 
Winford  Eagle,  nearly  adjoining  the  eastern  side  of  an  ancient  road, 
leading  from  JMaiden  Newton,  through  Winford  Eagle,  to  Compton 
Abbas,  and  the  British  entrenchments  on  Eggardon  Hill.  Some 
workmen,  who  were  digging  stone  for  the  foundation  of  farm  build- 
ings, discovered,  at  the  depth  of  about  i\  feet  from  the  surface,  and 
2\  feet  from  the  top  of  the  rock,  a  circular  cavity  or  cist  of  about  3 
feet  in  diameter,  and  4  feet  in  depth,  containing  a  perfect  human 
skeleton,  and  the  two  cups  or  utensils  here  represented.  The  bones 
had  fallen  to  the  bottom  of  the  cist,  and  on  the  admission  of  the 
external  air  crumbled  to  dust,  excepting,  among  a  few  others,  the 
scull  and  the  jaw-bone,  which  still  retained  some  teeth. 

The  vessel.  Fig.  i,  was  broken  by  the  workmen  in  their  eager  hopes 
of  obtaining  some  treasure  ;  but  the  other.  Fig.  2,  is  nearly  entire, 
and  is  now  in  my  possession  ;  it  is  of  the  rudest  manufacture  and 
appearance,  being  composed  of  earth  unglazed,  and  apparently  dried 
in  the  sun  ;  it  is  6  inches  in  height,  and  the  same  in  diameter,  and 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness ;  it  is  entirely  destitute  of 
ornament,  but  there  appears  to  have  been  a  slight  projection  round 
the  rim.  It  is  difficult  to  say  to  what  precise  period  of  antiquity  this 
deposit  must  be  assigned,  but  that  it  was  long  prior  to  the  invasion  of 
this  island  by  Julius  Cassar  there  can  be  little  doubt ;  this  may  be  in- 
ferred by  the  absence  of  coins  or  ornaments,  by  the  body  not  having 
been  burned,  and  especially  by  the  position  of  the  skeleton.  The 
mode  of  interment  among  the  Ancient  Britons  and  Gauls,  was  either 
by  consigning  the  remains  entire  and  undefaced  to  the  ground,  or  by 
previously  reducing  them  to  ashes  ;  the  former  is  the  most  natural, 
and  the  primitive  mode  of  sepulture ;  the  latter  a  refinement  upon  it, 
and  consequently  of  subsequent  date.  The  position  of  the  bones,  in 
this  instance,  bespeaks  also  a  very  early  date ;  for  it  seems  probable, 
notwithstanding  their  situation  when  found,  and  judging  from  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  cist  or  cell,  that  the  body  was  originally  placed  in  a 
sitting  posture,  which  was  a  practice  of  the  most  remote  antiquity, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  been  adopted  from  Jacob's  gathering  up  his 
feet  into  the  bed,  as  mentioned  in  Genesis  xlix.  "i^.  This  mode  of 
burial  has  also  been  practised  by  the  Caraib  Indians  of  North 
America  from  time  immemorial.  But  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory 
conclusion,  as  to  the  period  of  the  interment,  may  be  drawn  from  a 
careful  inspection  of  the  earthen  vessels  deposited  with  the  body. 

The  pottery  of  the  Ancient  Britons  was  bare  in  its  material,  and 
rude  in  its  manufacture,  formed  before  the  use  of  the  lathe  was  known, 


io6  Sepzilchral  Remains. 

and  imperfectly  baked  in  the  sun  ;  more  elegant  shapes,  glazing,  and 
ornaments,  were  introduced  by  Roman  art.  That  these  were  not 
sepulchral  or  funeral  urns,  is  clear,  as  well  from  their  shape  as  the 
consideration  that  those  were  used  only  to  contain  the  ashes  of  the 
body  after  cremation.  These  were  in  all  probability  domestic  utensils, 
and  were  placed  with  the  body  to  contain  food  and  drink  for  the  dead ; 
that  with  a  handle  (Fig.  2)  was  without  doubt  the  ordinary  drinking- 
cup  of  the  deceased. 

The  spot  where  these  relics  were  found  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  many  interesting  British  and  Roman  remains,  and  the  surrounding 
hills  show  numerous  lines  of  those  ancient  enclosures  which  Dr. 
Stukeley  ascribed  to  the  early  Britons.  Upon  the  whole,  I  think  we 
may  reasonably  conclude  that  this  deposit  may  be  referred  to  as 
early  a  period  as  any  recorded  discovery  of  a  similar  nature  in  this 
country. 

Yours,  etc.  J.  D. 

Barrows  opened  in  Dorsetshire. 

[1836,  Part  I.,  pp.  365-369.] 

As  your  pages  are  at  all  times  open  to  subjects  relating  to  "  hoar 
antiquity,"  I  am  induced  to  forward  the  results  of  a  few  days  spent 
in  conjunction  with  two  friends  (Messrs.  Chas.  Hall,  and  G.  A.  Ellis, 
author  of  the  "  History  of  Weymouth  "),  in  examining  some  of  the 
numerous  tumuli  with  which  the  hills  on  the  coast  of  Dorset  (parti- 
cularly in  the  vicinity  of  Weymouth)  are  covered,  and  where  the 
researches  were  carried  on.  The  operations  were  first  commenced  on 
the  Upway  Downs,  where  a  small  barrow  was  cut  through  from  east 
to  west.  Immediately  under  the  surface  fragments  of  calcined  bones 
and  very  coarse  pottery  were  found  ;  at  the  base,  and  under  the  level 
of  the  adjoining  ground,  imbedded  in  the  chalk,  was  a  skeleton  lying 
on  its  back,  due  east  and  west. 

The  next  were  two  small  ones  (or  rather  a  twin  barrow). 

"  Still  side  by  side  the  verdant  movinds  appear, 
And  tell  that  mighty  men  lie  buried  there." 

ApoUonius  Rhodius,  Lib.  2. 

The  first,  on  being  cut  through,  presented  similar  small  fragments 
of  pottery  and  bones,  with  charcoal,  and  a  few  feet  in  from  the  side, 
a  cist  cut  in  the  chalk,  which  was  filled  with  ashes  and  bones.  The 
second  appeared  to  have  a  fresh  cap.  Within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface 
was  a  skeleton  lying  in  the  same  position  as  that  in  the  first  barrow 
opened ;  here  also  the  same  appearances  as  regards  pottery  and 
bones  presented  themselves. 

A  Druid  barrow  (why  so  called  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture)  was 
next  chosen  ;  the  diameter  of  the  fosse  and  vallum  was  about  50  feet, 
the  tumulus  (a  very  small  one)  being  placed  in  the  centre  ;  on  re- 


Barrows  Opened  in  DorsetsJiii'c.  107 

moving  the  surface,  fragments  of  the  same  description  of  pottery, 
with  bones,  were  seen  ;  under  a  flat  stone,  about  3  feet  from  the 
surface  (the  tumulus  itself  not  being  more  than  4  feet)  was  an  urn, 
<'omposed  of  the  coarsest  materials  placed  invertedly  ;  it  was  about 
half  filled  with  calcined  bones,  and  had  three  or  four  thin  flat  stones 
placed  within,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  the  contents  in 
its  proper  place.  In  another  Druid  barrow  (the  fosse  and  vallum  60 
feet  in  diameter)  were  nothing  but  fragments  of  precisely  the  same 
description.  Here  the  excavations  for  the  day  were  terminated  ;  the 
fragments  of  pottery  were  all  of  the  same  kind,  sun-dried,  and  of  the 
coarsest  material. 

The  first  tumulus  opened  on  the  succeeding  day  was  quite  small, 
and  a  section  being  made  through  it  from  east  to  west,  offered 
nothing  to  notice  but  fragments  of  pottery  and  bones,  similar  to  those 
of  the  preceding. 

The  next  was  a  barrow  of  considerable  size  :  this  was  selected  on 
account  of  its  being  more  pointed  in  its  formation  than  any  other  on 
the  ridge  of  hills,  and  might  be  appropriately  termed  a  cone  barrow. 

"  And  high  they  rear'd  the  mound." 

The  composition  and  order  of  its  strata  was,  first :  the  bed  or  base 
of  hard  close  chalk,  then  earth  plentifully  mixed  with  charcoal ;  on 
this    a   thick  coating  of   particularly  loose  rubble-like  chalk,   then 
earth  slightly  interspersed  with  charcoal,  and  on  this  a  thin  layer  of 
chalk,  finally  covered  with  the  sward.     The  opening  of  this  tumulus 
commenced  at  its  base  on  the  east  side  ;  after  excavating  a  shaft  of 
about  6  feet,  an  urn  was  discovered  in  the  stratum  of  earth  above 
the  rubble-like  chalk,  placed  with  its  mouth  uppermost,  reclining  to- 
wards the  east,  and  partly  filled  with  calcined  bones  ;  the  greatest 
care  was  taken,  and  a  fire  having  been  made  around  it  immediately 
on  removal,  it  has  been  preserved  entire  ;    its  dimensions  are  in 
height  14  inches,  diameter  at  the  top  9  inches,  ditto  middle  11  inches, 
ditto  base  6  inches  ;  immediately  under  the  urn  at  the  base,  the 
skeleton  of  a  dog  was  exhumed,  the  skull  of  which  was  quite  perfect, 
with  the  teeth  firmly  fixed  in  the  sockets.     On  the  excavation  ap- 
proaching the  centre,  under  the  superstratum  of  chalk,  a  mass,  full  3 
feet  deep  and  4  feet  diameter,  of  black  and  red  ashes,  was  presented 
to  view ;  upon  the  removal  of  which  was  found  a  very  considerable 
quantity  of  bones,  but  too  much  calcined  to  admit  of  anatomical  ap- 
propriation ;  under  these,  in  the  chalk  which  formed  the  base,  was  a 
cist  filled  with  burnt  remains.     This  tumulus  I  should  conceive  to 
have  been  raised  over  some  chieftain  famed  for  his  exploits  in  the 
chase,  his  favourite  hound  being  placed  with  him,  and  the  extra- 
ordinary quantity  of  ashes,  that  of  a  hecatomb  immolated  to  his 
manes. 

The  site  of  the  third  day's  proceedings  was  an  abrupt  insulated  hill 


io8  Sepulchral  Remains. 

called  Chalbury.  This  hill  bears  strong  traces  of  human  occupation, 
probably  those  of  a  British  settlement ;  it  has  a  shallow  fosse  and  low 
vallum  (in  some  parts  composed  of  stones),  extending  round  its  sides, 
and  is  further  strengthened  by  several  natural  terraces ;  at  its  base  a 
beautifully  formed  and  singularly  perfect  fosse  is  drawn  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  ;  this  is  evidently  the  work  of  a  subsequent  period. 
The  summit,  which  occupies  an  area  of  several  acres,  is  covered  with 
numerous  circles  and  hollows,  which  are  plainly  and  easily  traced  on 
the  turf.  Here  are  two  tumuli  of  low  and  irregular  formation,  with 
portions  of  stone  protruding  through  the  surface,  and  of  which,  on 
opening  one,  it  was  found  to  be  composed  ;  on  digging  some  way  in, 
an  urn  was  discovered,  of  very  coarse  materials,  and  filled  with  bones  ; 
it  was  too  much  decomposed  to  admit  of  removal ;  many  fragments 
of  pottery  and  bones  were  also  shown.  Beyond  these,  and  about  the 
centre  of  the  tumulus,  a  large  congeries  of  bones,  of  some  very 
minute  animal,  was  discovered,  a  quantity  of  teeth  of  a  comparative 
size  being  interspersed  :  nothing  more  was  here  elicited.* 

The  next  barrow  opened  was  situated  on  Osmington  Down  ;  it  was 
of  considerable  size.  On  a  section  being  made  through  it,  when 
about  one  third  way  in,  a  large  urn  (full  i6  inches  diameter  at  the 
mouth)  was  discovered,  placed  invertedly,  but  crushed  by  the  super- 
incumbent earth ;  on  removal  it  was  found  to  have  covered  another 
of  a  particularly  small  size,  not  more  than  3  inches  in  height,  and  2 
inches  in  diameter ;  this  was  removed  quite  safe,  and  is  in  fine  pre- 
servation ;  it  contained  a  few  calcined  bones ;  we  found  nothing  more 
material. 

Another  tumulus,  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  was  then  commenced. 
On  the  summit,  within  6  inches  of  the  surface,  a  skeleton  was  dis- 
covered lying  on  its  side  (east  and  west),  with  the  head  bent  down, 
apparently  as  if  the  grave  had  not  been  of  sufficient  length ;  at  the 
head  was  a  flat  stone  placed  edgewise,  with  another  similarly  fixed 
opposite  the  face.  On  digging  down,  many  large  stones  and  flints 
were  met  with ;  under  these  was  another  skeleton,  placed  apparently 
in  a  sitting  position.  The  excavation  was  continued  under  these  re- 
mains. On  a  level  with  the  bed  of  the  barrow  was  a  flat  stone, 
which,  on  removal,  was  found  covering  an  urn  filled  with  bones  and 
ashes  :  it  was  composed  of  finer  materials,  and  of  superior  manufac- 

*  These  mice  had  perhaps  been  attracted  to  the  spot  from  some  grain  or  meal 
(mola),  the  literal  immolation,  having  been  deposited  there  when  the  funeral 
sacrifice  was  performed.  These  little  animals  had  established  their  burrows  on  the 
spot,  and  had  sunk  during  a  hard  winter  into  the  long  slumber  of  mortality.  We 
know  that  the  excavations  of  a  tumulus  lately  in  the  North  of  England  produced, 
to  the  surprise  of  the  explorer,  nothmg  but  the  bones  of  a  mouse.  His  discoveries 
in  another  quarter  were,  however,  much  too  valuable  and  important  that  the  force 
of  the  fable  should  apply  to  him, 

Mons  parturiens, 


Ecce  ridiculus  mus  ! 


Barrows  Opened  in  Dorsetshire.  109 

ture  to  any  previously  discovered,  being  ornamented  with  the  chevron 
moulding.  From  the  situation  in  which  it  was  placed,  a  cist  of  its 
exact  size  being  cut  in  the  chalk  for  its  reception,  it  was  impossible  to 
remove  it  entire.  That  this  tumulus  was  of  later  formation  than  any 
of  those  previously  opened,  is  clearly  evidenced  by  the  superior  finish 
of  the  urn  contained  in  it,  which  was  the  primary  interment  and 
cause  of  the  erection  of  the  tumulus  ;  the  skeletons  found  above 
being  added  at  a  more  subsequent  period. 

The  operations  were  continued  on  the  following  day  in  the  same 
neighbourhood.  The  first  barrow  opened  was  found  to  be  com- 
posed of  gravel,  large  rough  stones,  and  flints.  At  the  east  side,  at 
some  distance  inwards,  placed  between  masses  of  stone,  we  discovered 
an  urn  of  very  coarse  materials,  crushed  by  the  stones  with  which  it 
was  surrounded.  Still  progressing,  we  arrived  at  the  base  of  the 
tumulus  ;  here  was  a  circle  10  feet  in  diameter,  formed  by  small  flat 
stones  placed  edgewise  ;  in  the  centre,  in  a  cist  cut  in  the  chalk,  was 
an  urn  of  similar  formation  to  the  one  discovered  above ;  nothing 
more  was  met  with. 

A  barrow,  situated  by  itself  on  Poxwell  Down  was  then  chosen, 
with  which  the  exhumations  should  be  terminated.  On  account  of 
its  being  of  a  small  size,  it  was  resolved  to  remove  it  entirely,  in  sec- 
tions of  2  feet :  the  work  was  accordingly  begun  on  the  east  side  ; 
before  the  whole  of  the  first  section  was  removed,  two  urns  were  met 
with  and  unfortunately  destroyed.  Having  taken  sufficient  indicia  to 
enable  the  presence  of  deposits  to  be  pretty  correctly  ascertained, 
and  in  some  measure  profiting  by  misfortune,  greater  care  was  taken 
in  removing  the  soil.  In  this  line  were  three  urns,  two  of  which 
were  preserved  entire ;  the  other  crumbled  to  pieces  on  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere.  In  the  next  course  an  urn  was  unfortunately  broken, 
from  its  being  placed  at  the  extreme  edge  of  the  tumulus,  and  not 
above  4  inches  from  the  surface.  In  this  section,  but  further  in,  was 
another  urn,  which  was  safely  removed.  By  this  time  about  half  of 
the  soil  had  been  displaced;  when,  about  the  centre  of  the  barrow,  an 
urn  presented  itself,  quite  diff'erent  from  the  others,  being  of  fine 
materials,  baked  instead  of  sun-dried,  larger  and  of  handsomer  shape, 
being,  in  addition,  ornamented  with  a  chevron  moulding.*  Notwith- 
standing the  greatest  possible  care,  it  crumbled  into  fragments.  On 
removing  the  next  course,  we  found  an  urn  (and  this  the  only  one) 
containing  bones  :  this,  like  the  former,  came  to  pieces  on  exposure. 
We  then  proceeded  to  displace  the  remainder  of  the  tumulus,  but 
nothing  further  was  discovered.     This  last  was,  as  regards  the  con- 

*  The  chevron,  or  zigzag,  appears  to  have  been  a  favourite  ornament  in  early 
Egyptian  and  Grecian  remains,  and  on  the  primitive  remains  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere.  It  may  not  be  generally  known,  that  urns  have  been  found  in 
tumuli  in  Mexico  (and  from  the  nature  of  the  ware  in  the  highest  preservation), 
with  precisely  the  same  description  of  ornament. 


no  Septilchral  Remains. 

tents,  the  most  abundant.  I  should  myself  consider  it  to  have  been 
exclusively  the  sepulchral  mound  of  some  distinct  clan,  raised  to  one 
of  their  renowned  chieftains,  whose  remains  were  deposited  in  the 
ornamented  urn,  and  in  respect  for  whom  it  was  held  in  such  estima- 
tion as  to  become  the  resting-place  of  many  of  his  clan. 

That  sepulture  in  barrows  in  the  primitive  ages  was  almost  uni- 
versal (at  least  for  the  chief  men),  we  have  many  and  incontrovertible 
proofs ;  and  we  find  tumuli  in  North  and  South  America  devoted  to 
similar  purposes  as  those  in  this  country.  It  has  been  clearly  proved, 
from  the  opening  of  these  tumuli,  that  they  v/ere  exclusively  devoted 
to  funereal  purposes ;  and  from  the  similarity  of  deposits  we  may 
safely  pronounce  that  the  whole  of  the  tumuli  on  the  coast  of  Dorset 
are  generally  alike  in  their  contents,  and  continuously  coeval  in  their 
formation,  which  might  be  appropriated  to  the  earliest  era  of  barrow 
burial ;  as  such,  no  greater  proof  can  be  given,  than  that  of  the  total 
absence  of  any  substance  the  produce  of  the  arts,  neither  sword-blade 
nor  shield,  bead  nor  amulet  being  discovered.  Cremation,  which 
mostly  prevailed,  being  in  strict  accordance  with  their  mystical  reli- 
gion, that  of  the  adoration  of  the  solar  body,  as  the  generator  and 
reviver  of  nature ;  the  Druidical  year  commencing  at  the  vernal 
equinox,  when  their  most  solemn  feast  was  held  in  honour  of  that 
luminary,  the  night  preceding  which  all  fires  were  extinguished,  and 
were  rekindled  from  the  sacred  fire  at  the  festival.  The  Beltan  feast 
— "  Baaltuine,  Belus,  or  Baal's-fire  " — formerly  held  in  some  parts  of 
Ireland  and  Scotland,  was  evidently  a  relic  of  this  Druidical  festival. 
Many  of  their  sacrificial  and  funereal  ceremonies  were  performed  at 
midnight,  when  darkness  had  thrown  her  sable  mantle  over  the  face 
of  the  earth,  and  by  the  contrast  contributed  to  heighten  the  solem- 
nity of  the  scene.  Can  the  imagination  picture  to  itself  anything 
more  awfully  sublime,  more  calculated  to  impress  the  beholders  with 
veneration  and  submission  to  their  religion,  and  respect  for  the  cere- 
mony, than  the  body  of  a  departed  chieftain  placed  on  the  funereal 
pile,  around  which  are  the  officiating  priests  performing  the  proces- 
sion of  the  deasuil*  and  other  mysterious  rites  of  their  religion  : 

"  And  thrice  with  pious  liands  they  heap'd  the  ground, 
And  compass'd  thrice  in  arms  the  rising  mound." 

Apol.  Rhod.  Lib.  4. 

Then  the  coronach  chaunted  by  the  bards,  in  which  they  recite  the 
noble  descent  of  the  departed  hero,  his  prowess  in  the  battle-field, 
his  skill  in  the  chase,  and  his  feats  at  the  banquet ;  then  the  chief 
mourner  applying  the  torch,  dense  clouds  of  white  smoke  rolling  in 
majestic  sullenness  to  the  heavens,  succeeded  by  volumes  of  red 
flame,  which  cast  an  unearthly  reflection  on  the  white-robed  priests 
and  skin-clad  warriors  attendant  on  the  ceremony.     On  a  sudden  the 

*  Or  deisol.     That  procession  of  the  Druid  rites  performed  in  imitation  of  the 
sun's  course  from  east  to  west,  in  a  circle. 


Celtic  Remains  in  Kent.  i  n 

neighbouring  hills  answer  the  signal,  and  the  horizon  becomes  one 
continuous  illumination  from  the  watch  fires  of  the  surrounding  clans, 
vying  with  each  other  in  veneration  for  their  religion,  respect  and 
honour  for  a  departed  chieftain,  and  in  every  way  proclaiming  it  an 
offering  worthy  the  manes  of  a  Celtic  hero. 

The  principal  of  the  deposits  being  found  on  the  east  side  of  the 
tumuli,  is  confirmatory  of  their  worship  of  the  solar  body,  being 
placed  on  that  side  which  first  met  his  reviving  beams  on  emerging 
from  the  horizon.  .  .  .  We  find  in  Herodotus,  Melpomene,  xxxiii., 
that  they,  the  Hyperboreans  (clearly  the  Celtae),  continually  sent 
sacred  offerings  to  the  Temple  of  Apollo,  at  Delos,  where  they  were 
held  in  high  estimation. 

"  The  Celtic  sages  a  tradition  hold, 
That  every  drop  of  amber  was  a  tear 
Shed  by  Apollo,  when  he  fled  from  heaven  ; 
For  sorely  did  he  weep,  and  sorrowing  pass'd 
Thro'  many  a  doleful  region,  'till  he  reached 
The  sacred  Hyperboreans." — Apol.  Khod. 

Yours,  etc.         Chas.  Warne. 
Celtic    Remains  in  Kent. 

[1863,  Part  I.,  pp.  636-638.] 

A  watery  sky,  a  cutting  wind,  and  muddy  roads,  are  not  incentives 
to  tempt  the  gentle  archaeologists  of  England  to  pursue  investigations 
into  the  customs  of  the  aborigines  of  this  island  ;  nevertheless  on 
Saturday  last,  any  one  more  intent  on  his  neighbour's  business  than 
his  own  would,  at  the  Strood  station,  have  been  struck  with  the  deter- 
mined aspect  of  three  individuals,  who  with  sticks  and  umbrellas  took 
their  railway  tickets  for  Snodland,  a  station  on  the  North  Kent  line 
half  way  to  Maidstone. 

It  was,  then,  on  this  day  my  good  fortune,  with  Mr.  Roach  Smith 
as  pioneer,  to  accompany  our  friend  Mr.  Charles  Warne  to  view  some 
Celtic  remains  in  Addington  Park  and  at  Coldrum.  We  had  a 
delightful  walk  through  the  villages  of  Birling  and  Ryarsh  to  Ad- 
dington, where,  despite  the  rain,  we  arrived  at  one  o'clock.  In 
summer  this  must  be  a  lovely  walk,  and  in  winter  time  it  is  not 
wanting  in  scenery.  After  a  cheery  lunch  at  a  Royal  Hotel,  we  went  to 
Addington  Park,  the  ground  of  which  is  very  undulating.  On 
entering  you  see  before  you  an  elevation,  but  whether  natural  or 
artificial  is  doubtful.  Mr.  Warne  is  inclined  to  the  belief  of  its  being 
natural,  and  being  an  authority  on  such  points,  his  opinion  should  be 
final ;  but  probably  a  moderate  outlay  in  excavation  would  be  more 
conclusive,  as  the  angle  of  elevation  on  one  side  appears  to 
be  a  little  too  sharp  to  be  in  accordance  with  natural  causes. 
Be   this,   however,    as   it  may,  on  this  elevation  were  the   remains 


112  Sepulchral  Remains. 

of  a  cromlech,  consisting  of  two  or  three  upright  stones  in 
such  position  as  to  form  part  of  the  head  of  a  man  -  shaped 
cromlech  ;  close  by  was  a  huge  stone,  horizontal,  which  had  been 
thrown  out  of  position,  and  was  most  probably  the  head  capstone. 
At  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  yards  from  the  head  were  other  stones, 
of  smaller  bulk,  grouped  so  as  to  form  what  I  take  to  be  the  foot  of 
the  cromlech  ;  outside,  on  the  decline  of  the  rise,  which  certainly 
appeared  to  have  a  circular  figure,  were  other  large  stones ;  but 
whether  in  the  destruction  of  the  cromlech  they  had  from  wanton- 
ness been  rolled  there,  or  formed  part  of  a  circle,  there  was  not 
sufficient  evidence  to  show,  for  they  do  not  appear  numerous  enough 
to  warrant  the  latter  conclusion,  nor  can  we  suppose  that,  having 
been  taken  up  for  an  ulterior  purpose,  they  would  have  been  conveyed 
so  short  a  distance  and  then  set  down. 

Two  hundred  yards  furtheron,  and  to  the  right,  is  a  second  cromlech. 
It  may  be  called  a  perfect  one  ;  but  it  is  only  perfect  in  so  far  as 
from  its  present  appearance  its  original  form  can  be  predicated. 
Here,  unlike  the  last,  an  imposing  mass  of  stones  presents  itself  for 
examination.  In  the  first  place  we  observe  three  large  capstones 
shelved  one  within  the  other,  like  half-pence  inclined  at  an  angle  of 
80° ;  secondly,  around  and  beneath  smaller  masses  of  stone  ;  thirdly, 
odd  blocks  horizontal,  some  few  yards  in  rear  of  these  :  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  more  would  now  remain  (if  they  do  not  in  fact  remain 
beneath  the  soil),  had  they  been  of  less  convenient  size  to  cart  away. 
That  this  was  an  oblong  or  man-shaped  cromlech,  such  as  we  see  in 
Jersey  and  Guernsey,  I  feel  convinced,  and  its  present  appearance 
has  arisen  somewhat  in  the  following  manner  : — The  three  capstones 
originally  rested  on  the  smaller  blocks,  now  around  and  beneath, 
then  upright ;  but  that  from  some  cause  these  latter  having  given  way 
within  and  without  their  original  setting,  these  capstone  masses  have 
gradually  slid  down  one  within  the  other  as  we  now  see  them  \  and 
that  the  odd  blocks  in  rear  indicate  the  remains  of  a  continuance  of 
the  chamber,  similar  to  that  on  L'Ancresse  Common  in  Guernsey, 
etc. 

There  is  another  circumstance  which  deserves  attention,  and  that 
is  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which  is  sandy  ;  this  may  account  for  finding 
so  few  stones  upright,  and  also  for  so  few  stones  being  visible  ;  con- 
sequently, if  judicious  excavations  were  undertaken,  probably  a  more 
certain  indication  of  the  form  of  these  cromlechs  would  be  made 
manifest,  besides  obtaining  any  relics  that  may  still  be  preserved  for  us. 

The  cromlech  at  L'Ancresse  in  Guernsey  is  situated  close  to  the 
sea-shore,  and  being  completely  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  sea- 
breezes,  there  is  no  wonder  at  its  being  so  thoroughly  embedded  in 
sand  as  it  was,  till  exposed  a  few  years  ago  ;  but  at  Addington  we 
lack  the  constant  sea-breezes,  and  cannot  suppose  that  two  or  three 
thousand  years  should  make  no  difference  in  the  consolidation  of 


Celtic  Re7nains  in  Kent.  113 


sand-soil,  so  liable  to  be  shifted  by  wind  or  moved  by  human  agency : 
and  therefore  I  conclude  that  the  light  soil  continued  to  be  blown 
about  by  the  wind  till  forest-trees  arose  and  vegetation  gradually 
crept  up,  putting  a  stop  to  further  accumulation  ;  and  to  this  cause 
we  are  probably  indebted  for  its  present  appearance. 

From  Addington  Park  we  pursued  our  way  through  a  silent  wood 
to  Coldrum,  accessible  also  by  the  carriage-road.  To  those  who  in 
summer-time  desire  to  combine  their  recreations,  there  will  be  ample 
opportunity  for  increasing  entomological  and  botanical  collections  ; 
nor  need  more  delicate  feet  hesitate  to  follow  a  path  strewn  with  the 
beauties  of  nature. 

The  Celtic  remains  at  Coldrum  are  essentially  different  from  those 
in  Addington  Park.  :  they  are  situated  on  the  top  of  rising  ground, 
cut  away  in  part  to  form  the  road  by  which  you  approach,  and  further 
excavated  for  chalk,  by  which  one  of  the  finest  Celtic  remains  in 
Kent  has  been  almost  destroyed.  The  difference  in  level  between 
the  rising  ground  and  road  is  about  25  feet,  so  that  two  large 
stones  are  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice.  The  remains  at  present 
consist  of  about  17  stones  in  a  horizontal  position  in  oval  form, 
though  I  doubt  not,  when  these  stones  were  upright,  the  form 
was  circular,  Mr.  Warne  conjectured  that  the  present  shape  has 
resulted  from  the  decline  of  the  stones  within  and  without  the 
original  setting.  They  are  partially  covered  with  earth.  The  stones 
of  this  oval  approach  close  to  the  edge  of  the  quarry,  and  at  one 
point  two  large  blocks  of  stone  set  on  edge,  and  as  if  forming  two 
of  the  stones  of  a  chamber,  project  over  the  precipice :  they  are 
almost  parallel,  and,  on  a  rough  measurement,  are  about  3  yards 
long,  \\  yards  deep,  and  2  feet  thick:  at  their  inner  end  and 
next  the  circle,  a  space  of  about  3A  feet  is  blocked  up  by  a  foot-stone ; 
the  overhanging  ends  towards  the  road  are  5  feet  apart.  In  the 
quarry  below  are  fourteen  huge  blocks  of  stone— one  triangular,  more 
than  8  feet  long,  and  well  calculated  to  form  a  capstone,  some  square, 
but  the  majority  oblong. 

From  the  shape  of  these  stones  and  the  position  of  the  two  large 
blocks  already  spoken  of,  I  infer  that  this  cairn  has  been  of  superior 
construction  to  those  I  have  before  noticed,  and  has  been  built  of 
oblong  blocks  fitted  together  and  covered  by  capstones,  and  not  built, 
as  I  have  elsewhere  seen,  of  triangular  uprights  overlaid  by  triangular 
blocks — two  triangular  blocks  making  together  aparallelogram — having, 
in  fact,  a  more  coffin-shaped  appearance. 

Comparing  these  cromlechs  with  those  I  saw  last  year  in  Jersey 
and  Guernsey,  they  do  not  appear  to  differ  in  construction,  but  only 
in  the  size  of  the  blocks  of  stone  ;  and  probably  the  Channel  Islands 
cairns  owe  their  preservation  to  the  abundance  of  the  material  and  a 
limited  population,  whereas  the  very  reverse  obtains  here.  I  have 
called  them  man-shaped  cromlechs,  as  I  conceive  that  their  form  was 
^suggested  by  the  human  figure. 

VOL,  v.  8 


114  Sepulchral  Remains. 

There  is  something  very  grand  in  the  contemplation  of  these  vast 
masses  of  stone,  reared  by  the  pious  industry  of  our  ruder  yet  more 
elegant-minded  forefathers  over  the  remains  of  what  they  ever  held 
dear  to  them,  certainly  a  vast  deal  better  than  that  repugnant-looking 
black  box  we  would-be-civilised  thrust  our  lifeless  remains  into,  and 
on  a  par  with  the  disgusting  emblem  of  death  the  Middle  Ages  gave 
us  !  .  .   .  . 

I  am,  etc.         Charles  Moore  Jessop. 

Yorkshire  Tumuli. 

[1866,  Part  I.,  pp.  493,  494.] 

The    Rev.  W.  Greenwell,  of   Durham,  who    has    announced  for 
publication  a  work  upon  the  British  period,  "A  Decade  of  Skulls 
from  Ancient  Northumbria  "  [see  Note  11],  has  spent  several  days  in 
the  examination  of  the  group  of  tumuli  near  Gardham,  on  the  Cherry 
Burton  Wolds,  about  midway  between  Beverley  and  Market  Weighton. 
The  group  consisted  of  eight  round  barrows,  six  of  which  were  in  a 
line  running  east  and  west,  and  were  from  5  to  50  yards  apart ;  the 
other  two  were  about  100  yards  to  the  north,  of  themselves  situate 
east  and  west,  and  about  60  yards   apart.     The  results  from  these 
examinations  are  of  much  interest,   showing  the  two  practices  of 
cremation  and    inhumation  to  have   been  in  use  at  the    particular 
British    period    marked  by  these    burials.      The    excavations    were 
commenced  on  the  tumulus  to  the  extreme  east,  which  was  49  feet  in 
diameter,   and  much  lowered  by  ploughing.     In  the  centre,  5  feet 
below  the  surface,  in  an  oval  hollow  in  the  natural  chalk,  sunk  a  foot 
deep,    a    full-grown,  unburnt  male  body,  of  fifty  years,  was  found, 
laid  on  the  left  side,  with  the  head  to  the  south-east.     The  body  was 
doubled  up,  the  knees  being  drawn  up  to  the  elbows,  and  the  hands 
to  the  chin.     The  body  was  that  of  a  robust  man,  the  skull  being 
sadly  broken  and  decayed,  but  which  was  carefully  gathered  up  and 
well  rebuilt,  so  as  to  show  the  type.     There  was  a  great  amount  of 
burnt  matter  near  the  body  ;  but  no  implements  or  urn  appear  to 
have   been  buried  with   it.     The   second   tumulus  was  of   46  feet 
diameter.     Near  the  centre,   but    7    feet    apart,    it   contained    two 
reversed  cinerary  urns,  each  containing  the  remains  of  a  burnt  body. 
The  urns  w^ere  east-north-east  by  west-south-west.     The  eastern  urn 
contained  the  body  of  a  young  child,  probably  not  a  year  old ;  the 
other  that  of  a  full-grown  person.     Excepting  the  rims,  the  urns  were 
much  damaged  by  the  plough.     A  few  large  chalk-flints  had  been 
placed  round  each  urn  as  a  protection.    These  burials  were  both  of  a 
secondary  nature,  and  were  placed  in  the  barrow  above  2|-  feet  above 
the  natural  surface.      Upon  the  natural  surface  a  portion  of  a  skull 
of  an  unburnt  body  was  found,  but  nothing  more  remained  ;  and 
close  by,  in  a  hollow  sunk  \\  feet  into  the  chalk,  the  primary  burial — ■ 
a  reversed  urn,  containing  the  burnt  bones  of  a  young  person — was. 


YorksJiire   Ttiinuli.  1 1 5 


found  surrounded  by  burnt  earth  and  charcoal.     The  urn,  from  the 

wet  nature  of  the  ground,  was  very  much  decayed.  All  the  three 
urns  found  in  this  tumulus  were  of  the  ordinary  British  cinerary  type, 
with  overhanging  rims,  and  ornamented  with  reticulated  and  herring- 
bone impressions  of  twisted  thong.  A  few  pieces  of  red-deer  horn 
were  found  mixed  with  the  materials  of  the  bone. 

The  third  tumulus  examined  was  36  feet  in  diameter,  and 
reduced  by  ploughing  to  2^^  feet  altitude,  the  same  process  having 
destroyed  its  contents  entirely,  barring  the  action  of  the  elements. 
The  fourth  tumulus  was  of  20  feet  diameter,  and  about  2  feet  high, 
the  plough  having  again  much  reduced  the  height.  In  a  slight 
hollow  sunk  into  the  natural  chalk  rock,  the  remains  of  a  burnt 
body  were  found,  without  urn  or  any  accompaniment.  The  cre- 
mation and  interment  had  evidently  taken  place  on  the  spot. 
The  fifth  and  sixth  barrows  were  each  38  feet  diameter,  and  each 
2 1  feet  high,  the  contents  of  both  having  been  destroyed  by 
cultivation.  The  seventh  barrow,  one  of  those  to  the  north,  was 
of  46  feet  diameter  and  3  feet  high,  and  among  the  materials 
two  fragments  of  an  urn,  which,  with  its  contents,  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  plough,  were  found.  The  singular  feature  of 
this  tumulus  was,  that  almost  throughout  its  whole  area,  and  just 
above  the  natural  surface,  a  hard  bed  of  fused  flints  was  met 
with,  which  was  broken  up  with  difficulty,  and  presented  the 
appearance  of  broken  clinkers.  Beneath  this  vitreous  platform, 
and  about  the  centre  of  the  barrow,  there  was  much  burnt  matter, 
along  with  charcoal,  and  in  a  circular  hollow  in  the  chalk  the  remains 
of  the  burnt  body  were  deposited.  The  eighth  tumulus  was  not 
opened.  It  is  a  most  singular  feature  that  in  the  barrows  examined 
not  a  single  flint  implement  or  portion  of  flint,  burnt  or  unburnt,  was 
found  ;  nor,  urns  excepted,  any  article  which  had  been  deposited  with 
reference  to  any  of  the  interments. 

The  last  examination  was  in  a  field  adjoining  the  new  line  of 
railway  from  Beverley  to  Market  AVeighton,  where,  when  the  line 
was  formed,  the  railway  company  removed  upwards  of  fifty  bodies, 
all  unburnt  and  doubled  up,  which  had  been  interred  in  hollows  in 
the  gravel  varying  from  i  foot  to  3  feet  deep  —  in  this  case 
inhumation  without  burial  mounds.  Mr.  Greenwell  devoted  one  day 
to  researches  in  this  British  cemetery,  and  found  one  interment. 
This  was  of  a  man  about  fifty  years  of  age,  the  body  being  doubled 
and  placed  in  a  hollow  i|-  feet  below  the  surface,  with  the  head  to 
east-south-east.  The  body  was  on  the  right  side,  with  the  legs  up,  the 
left  arm  crossed  over  the  chest,  and  the  right  extended.  A  small  semi- 
circular piece  of  greatly  decayed  bronze  was  found  near  the  hip,  but 
it  is  doubtful  if  associated  with  the  body.  It  is  not  possible  to  tell 
what  the  bronze  has  been.  The  stature  of  the  man  had  been  5  feet 
8  inches  to  5  feet  9  inches,  and  the  skull  was  broken  into  73  pieces, 

8—2 


ii6  Sepulchral  Remains. 

but  Mr.  Greenwell  does  not  despair  of  re-erecting  it  and  ascertaining 
the  type  and  race.  The  vicinity  is  a  very  rich  one  in  British 
sepulchral  remains,  of  which,  at  various  times,  much  destruction  has 
occurred.  In  the  rectory  yard  at  Dalton,  ten  bodies  were  found 
arranged  in  a  circle  under  a  tumulus,  all  doubled  up  in  the  British 
fashion.  These  were  re-interred  in  a  large  hole  made  to  receive  the 
bones  removed  when  rebuilding  the  chancel  of  the  church  ;  and, 
worse  than  this,  but  a  few  weeks  ago  Ancient  Britons,  found  accident- 
ally, were  reinterred  in  graves  dug  for  animals  dead  of  the  rinderpest. 
Mr.  Greenwell  heard  of  many  cases  where  tumuli  had  been  destroyed. 

[i2>67,  Part  I., pp.  94-95.] 

During  the  past  year  the  Rev.  William  Greenwell  has  been 
prosecuting,  with  much  success,  his  excavations  in  the  tumuli  of 
the  Yorkshire  Wolds.  Nothing  can  be  more  satisfactory  than  the 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Greenwell  conducts  his  researches ;  and, 
consequently,  the  enormous  mass  of  facts  which  he  has  accumulated 
will  become,  when  printed  and  illustrated,  of  high  value,  and  will 
probably  lead  to  certain  modifications  in  classifications,  which,  as 
they  at  present  appear,  can  only  be  considered  as  provisionary.  Past 
generations,  with  all  their  enthusiasm,  neglected  much  of  what  should 
be  the  chief  consideration  of  the  antiquary,  namely,  scrupulous 
attention  to  facts  of  all  kinds  connected  with  the  subjects  of  their 
study,  while  at  the  same  time  they  were  ever  running  off  to  all  sorts 
of  speculations  and  theories  which  often  perfectly  distracted  their 
readers,  and  left  the  really  useful  evidence  confused  and  inextricable. 
On  the  contrary,  Mr.  Greenwell  is  cautious  in  generalising.  "  In  a 
few  years,"  he  observed,  after  delivering  a  lecture  at  York,  based  upon 
his  excavations,  "  he  looked  forward  to  such  careful  examinations 
being  made  as  would  throw  much  additional  light  on  the  subject  of 
his  lecture."  He  added:  "On  the  Wolds  the  barrows  were 
disappearing  under  the  course  of  cultivation,  and  in  a  few  years  there 
would  be  no  remains  of  burial  mounds  there.  Several  had  been 
destroyed  (many  it  is  to  be  feared)  from  careless  and  reckless  opening 
by  mere  curiosity-hunters." 

Mr.  Greenwell  remarks,  that  in  the  Wold  district  and  in  other 
places  in  the  north,  there  are  numerous  ancient  fortresses  and  lines 
of  defence,  some  of  which  are  of  great  extent,  and  their  purpose  it 
was  not  easy  to  understand,  on  account  of  the  vast  army  that  would 
be  required  to  hold  them.  I  have  on  several  occasions  ventured  also 
to  question  the  soundness  of  the  common  belief  that  these  earthworks 
were  ever  intended  for  military  purposes ;  it  is,  at  a  glance,  evident 
they  never  could  be  held  against  an  enemy  except  by  an  immense 
force ;  and  then  comes  the  question,  what  could  have  been  the  object 
of  such  lines  of  defence  in  these  particular  districts  ?  To  me  they 
seem  to  have  been  boundaries  of  land,  and  in  this  point  of  view  they 


Yorkshire   Tumuli.  117 


are  perfectly  intelligible.  It  may  scarcely  be  necessary  to  point  out 
to  Mr.  Greenvvell  and  his  colleagues  the  excellent  work  of  Drs.  Davis 
and  Thurnam,  on  the  skulls  of  the  aboriginal  and  early  inhabitants 
of  the  British  Islands  ("Crania  Britannica"),  for  it  has  become 
indispensable  to  all  engaged  in  such  researches.  It  may  here  be 
remarked  that  in  the  museum  at  York  are  a  considerable  number  of 
funereal  urns,  labelled  "from  the  Yorkshire  Wolds,"  among  which 
are  many  Romano-British,  and  Saxon  ;  and  some  of  the  latter,  if  I 
mistake  not,  contain  burnt  bones. 

C.  Roach  Smith, 


[1867,  Part  /.,  pp.  792-794-] 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  Canon  Greenwell's  last  excavations 
in  tumuli  of  the  Yorkshire  Wolds  as  communicated  to  the  Times. 
They  were  made  on  the  estates  of  Sir  Charles  Legard,  of  Canton 
Hall.     "The  first  barrow  opened  was  of  94  feet  diameter,  and  3  feet 
high,  formed  of  chalk  and  clay.     At  19  feet  south-south-west  of  the 
centre,  and  i  foot  above  natural  ground,  a  burnt  body  was  found  to 
have  been  inserted,  the  bones  being  placed  in  a  heap  about  9  inches 
diameter,  and  on  the  west  side,  and  upon  them  was  an  'incense  cup,' 
of  the  usual  type.     At  the  centre  of  the  barrow  an  unburnt  body  was 
found  on  the  natural  surface,  laid  on  the  left  side,  with  head  to 
west-north-west.     Beneath  the  shoulder  blade  was  a  fine  large,  long 
flint  scraper,  and  large  native  blocks  of  flint  were  piled  around,  under 
and  over  the  body,  as  protection.     About  5  feet  to  the  east  was  the 
unburnt  body  of  a  child,  laid  on  the  right  side,  with  head  to  west. 
All  along  the  back,  and  partly  surrounding  and  covering  the  bones, 
were  the  calcined  fragments  of  another  body,  which  had  apparently 
been  scattered  over  the  unburnt  child.     Touching  the  head  of  the 
last  body  was  the  face  of  another,  laid  on  its  left  side,  with  head  to 
east-north-east.    The  right  hand  was  out  from  the  side  at  right  angles, 
and  held  the  head  of  another  child,  the  left  hand  being  up  to  the 
breast.     Behind  the  back  of  the  full-grown  body  was  the  detached 
jaw  of  a  young  person,  no  other  bones  being  there.     About  i  foot 
east  of  the  burnt  bones  was  the  body  of  a  very  young  person  on  the 
right  side,  with  head  to  the  north,   and  before  the  face — in  fact, 
touching  the  teeth — was  a  most  beautifully  chipped  thin  flint  barbed 
arrow-head.     About  3  yards  north-west  of  the  centre,  a  body  was 
found  on  the  natural  surface,  of  which  little  save  pieces  of  skull 
remained.    In  front  of  the  face  was  a  'cinerary'  urn,  or  an  urn  of  the 
shape  usually  found  containing  burnt  bodies.    This  was  a  combination 
of  cremation  pottery  with  an  inhumed  body,  of  which  only  one  instance 
has  before  been  found,  namely,  in  the  great  tumulus  on  Langton 
Wold,  Malton,  opened  in  1865.     The  whole  of  the  bodies  in  this 
barrow  were  contracted  or  '  doubled  up,'  and  their  condition  was  bad, 


1 1 8  Sepulchral  Remains. 


from  the  moisture  retained  by  the  clay.  A  pecuUar  chalk  wall  ran 
across  the  houe  east  and  west,  the  purpose  of  which  was  not  at  all 
apparent.  The  second  barrow  was  loo  feet  diameter,  and  4  feet 
high,  and  was  formed  of  sand  and  clay,  with  chalk  rubble.  Just 
south  of  the  centre,  on  the  natural  surface,  was  a  burnt  body,  the 
bones  forming  a  heap  of  \\  feet  diameter.  In  the  centre  was  an  oval 
grave,  formed  in  the  natural  rock,  2  feet  3  inches  deep,  4  feet  by  3 
feet  6  inches  in  diameter,  formed  east  and  west.  At  the  west  end  of 
this  grave  five  stake-holes  were  found,  of  which  casts  were  taken  in 
plaster-of-Paris.  These  were  10  inches  deep  on  the  average,  and 
showed  that  the  stakes  had  been  of  wood,  and  round,  but  pointed  in 
the  modern  way,  thus  showing  that  the  Britons  had  the  means  of 
sharpening  in  a  clean  angular  manner  the  timber  stakes  used.  At 
the  eastern  end  of  this  grave  or  cist  were  six  stake-holes  of  a  precisely 
similar  kind.  At  the  bottom  of  the  cist  was  black  matter,  as  if  ot 
decayed  wooden  planks,  and  the  same  appearances  were  behind  the 
stakes  ;  indeed,  the  clay  retained  impressions  of  wood.  In  the  grave 
was  an  unburnt  body  laid  on  the  right  side,  the  head  being  to  the 
north-west,  and  quite  up  to  the  stakes.  The  body  was  doubled  up, 
and  very  decayed.  Just  in  front  of  the  face  was  a  globular-shaped 
urn,  on  its  side,  with  the  mouth  to  the  head  of  the  skeleton.  The 
stake  holes  of  the  wooden  cist  averaged  about  2|  inches  in  diameter. 
Among  the  materials  of  the  houe  were  four  round  and  one  long  flint 
scrapers,  and  a  flint  javelin  head,  beautifully  chipped.  The  third 
houe  was  40  feet  diameter,  and  i  foot  high,  formed  of  chalk  rubble. 
Just  south  of  the  centre  was  an  urn,  with  much  burnt  earth  around 
it,  and  among  the  earth  a  few  very  imperfectly  burnt  bones  were 
scattered.  At  the  centre  an  oval  grave  was  found  dug  into  the 
chalk,  x\  feet  deep,  and  4  feet  by  3  feet.  In  this  was  a  body, 
evidently  a  female,  laid  on  the  left  side,  knees  drawn  up  to  elbows, 
and  head  to  west-south-west.  The  left  hand  was  under  the  head, 
and  the  right  rested  on  the  knees.  Before  the  face  the  bone  pin  of 
the  headdress  had  fallen.  In  filling  up  this  grave  after  the  burial 
fragments  of  another  burnt  body  had  been  mixed  with  the  soil. 
Generally  the  graves  examined  have  been  so  wet,  and  the  remains  so 
near  the  top,  that  the  skeletons  have  been  in  a  wretched  state.  The 
skulls,  being  generally  protected,  are  best,  and  most  of  them  will 
rebuild  and  show  type.  Investigations  are  proceeding  in  barrows 
which  show  a  mixture  of  late  Anglo-Saxon  with  early  British 
interments,  several  fine  bronze  fibulre,  and  other  Anglo-Saxon  relics 
having  been  met  with.     Of  these  openings  the  details  are  not  ready. 

"  Canon  Green  well  has  likewise  excavated  the  large  tumulus  so 
conspicuous  on  the  Duggleby  Wold  summit,  upon  the  estates  of  Mr. 
T.  W.  Rivis,  of  Newstead  House,  Malton.  The  results  have  been 
very  peculiar.  The  houe  was  a  very  large  one,  being  28  yards  in 
diameter,  and  7  feet  high.     Ten  yards  south   of  the  centre  a  large 


Yorkshire   Tiunuli.  1 1 9 


se|uare  grave  was  found,  dug  into  the  natural  chalk,  measuring  5  feet 
by  3  feet,  and  2  feet  deep.  The  corners  were  rounded,  not  angular. 
So  far  as  could  be  discovered,  this  grave  was  unused.  In  line  with 
the  centre,  but  four  yards  south  of  it,  was  another  unused  grave, 
circular  in  form,  and  2  feet  6  inches  in  diameter  by  i  foot  6  inches 
deep.  At  the  centre  were  three  small  mounds  of  chalk  gravel 
running  east  and  west,  and,  taken  in  relation  to  the  empty  graves, 
forming  the  letter  T.  These  mounds  were  circular  and  flat-topped, 
the  diameter  at  the  base  being  4  feet,  and  on  the  top  2  feet  6  inches, 
and  the  height  i  foot  6  inches.  The  eastern  and  western  mounds 
were  about  2  feet  distant  from  the  central  one,  and  had  nothing 
either  upon  or  below  them.  The  central  mound,  however,  was 
covered  with  a  layer  of  charcoal  about  an  inch  thick,  upon  which  was 
a  greatly  decayed  human  skeleton,  laid  upon  the  right  side  in  the 
doubled-up  British  fashion.  The  head  was  to  the  west,  and  had  been 
protected  by  four  wooden  stakes  driven  down  about  ten  inches.  The 
holes  in  the  clay  were  quite  distinct,  and  could  be  measured.  The 
stakes  varied  in  thickness  from  2  inches  to  i|  inches  diameter,  and 
had  been  sharpened  by  a  clean-cutting  instrument.  This  is  only  the 
second  time  stake-holes  have  been  detected.  Three  out  of  the  four 
stakes  were  angular.  With  the  body  were  buried  one  long  flint  flake, 
two  '  thumb  flints,' three  rubbed  sea-pebbles,  and  some  flint  chippings. 
These  were  laid  about  the  hips.  On  the  east  of  the  burial,  among 
the  soil,  were  detached  potsherds  and  some  stray  flints,  one  a  scraper. 
The  large  mound  was  composed  entirely  of  layers  of  loamy  earth 
and  burnt  matter,  and  was  totally  devoid  of  stone.  In  the  materials 
of  the  mound,  carelessly  thrown  in,  were  found  a  finely  worked  flint- 
flake  knife  and  other  implements  of  flint." 

[1867, /'ar/ //.,//.  651-653.] 

The  excavations  now  being  carried  on  by  Canon  Greenwell  and 
his  friends  have  already  been  the  means  of  accumulating  an  abundant 
mass  of  facts,  which  will  eventually  contribute  to  a  better  classification 
and  understanding  of  the  sepulchral  remains  on  the  wolds,  which 
belong  to,  at  least,  three  different  epochs. 

Near  Weaverthorpe,  on  the  northern  range  of  hills  stretching  from 
Malton  to  Filey,  the  discoveries  made  are  of  somewhat  unusual 
interest,  and  are  thus  described  : — i.  The  tumulus  contained  the 
skeleton  of  a  female,  laid  on  the  left  side  with  head  to  north-east,  with 
the  hands  up  to  the  head.  The  body  was  doubled  up.  Upon  the  right 
wrist  was  a  beautiful  bronze  armlet,  of  the  "  snake-head  "  pattern — 
a  succession  of  oval  swellings  lengthwise — and  quite  perfect.  Close 
to  the  neck  was  a  delicate  bronze  fibula,  of  the  bow  shape,  extremely 
elegant  in  workmanship,  which  had  originally  had  a  tongue  of  the 
same  metal.  This  had  been  broken  off,  and  replaced  by  an  iron 
tongue,  fixed  in  a  piece  of  wood  which  passed  through  the  bronze 


I20  Sepulchral  Remains. 

coil  of  the  fibula.     On  the  chest  was  a  necklace  of  beads,  fifty-three 
being  of  glass  and  seventeen  of  amber.     The  glass  beads  were  most 
beautiful ;  they  were  all  blue  in  colour,   and  ornamented  (with  one 
exception)  with  a  zigzag  pattern  in  white  enamel.     The  exceptional 
one  was  larger  and  more  globular  in  form,  and  was  ornamented  with 
amulets  of  white — identical  with  the  glass  beads  of  the  well-known 
Arras  find  in  1 817.     In  the  mound  were  some  potsherds,  and  a  few 
flint  chippings.     2.  This  barrow  contained  the  skeleton  of  a  female, 
with  head  to  the  north,  laid  on  her  left  side,  with  hands  up  to  the  face, 
and  body  doubled  up  into  the  least  possible  space,  being  from  head 
to  feet  only  35   inches.     On  the  right  wrist,  in  this  case,  too,  was  a 
perfect  bronze  armlet  of  the  most  beautiful  description,  resembling  a 
delicately  formed  cog-wheel,  with  rounded  teeth  on  both  sides,  the 
rim  between  the  teeth  being  ornamented  by  three  grooved  lines. 
For  exquisite  preservation,  delicacy  and  beauty  of  workmanship,  high 
polish,  and  brilliant  patina,  this  armlet  is  not  to  be  surpassed.     This 
was  similar  to  the  Arras  finds,  except  in  being  more  delicate.     The 
skull  was  remarkably  thick  and  strong,  while  the  other  bones  were 
very  light  and  slender.     Below  the  hip  were  the  remains  of  a  plain 
urn  of  a  peculiar  dark-coloured  ware.     Under  the  body  and  quite  to 
the  left  of  it,  formed  east  and  west,  was  a  hole  or  trench,  7  feet  by  4 
feet  and  2  feet  deep,  containing  flint    chippings,  animal    bones  and 
charcoal,  and  numerous  parts  of  a  dark  urn  spread  about.     Among 
the  bones  was  the  core  of  an  ox's  horn,  which  had  been  clean  cut 
from  the  head.     3.   In  this  was  a  doubled-up  body  on  the  right  side, 
the  head  to  the  south-south-west,  the  right  hand  under  thehead,  the  left 
onthe  hip.     At  the  feet  were  much  charcoal,  several  fragments  of  pottery, 
and  a  few  flint  chippings.    The  fourth  barrow  was  32  feet  diameter,  and 
2  feet  high.     At  the  centre,  on  the  surface,  was  a  body  on  the  left 
side,  with  head  to  the  north-east.    The  right  arm  down  by  the  side,  the 
fingers  touching  the  knee,  hand  flat,  the  left  arm  extended  from  the 
elbow,  hand  also  flat,  and  both  with  the  palms  upwards.     Six  inches 
below  the  body  were  many  fragments  of  a  peculiarly  plain,  dark  urn. 
Four  feet  south-east  of  the  centre  was  a  hollow,  3  feet  by  2  feet,  and  18 
inches  deep,  which  contained  much  burnt  matter,  parts  of  urn,  a 
thumb  flint,  and  several  flakes.      4.  Four  feet  to  the  west    was  a 
similar  but  larger  hole,  filled  with  a  black  carbonaceous  matter,  the 
sides  being  calcined  to  a  dark  red  colour.     5.  In  the  centre  was  a 
skeleton  lying  on  the  left  side,  contracted,  the  head  to  the  south-east, 
the  right  hand  up  to  the  head,  and  left  on  the  chest.     A  great  quantity 
of  charcoal  was  about  the  body.     To  inter  this  body  a  burnt  burial 
and  an  unburnt  body  of  a  child  had  been  disturbed,  pieces  of  burnt 
bone  and  a  child's  lower  jaw  being  close  to    the  intruding  burial. 
Above  the  body  were  parts  of  a  highly  ornate  "  drinking-cup  "  and 
portions    of   cinerary  urn.      6.  The    sixth    barrow    contained    two 
skeletons,  doubled  up ;  between  their  heads  a  small  urn.     As  has 


Yorkshire   Tuvmli.  121 

often  been  observed  elsewhere,  this  barrow  contained  a  considerable 
quantity  of  black  unctuous  matter  as  well  as  a  few  animal  bones. 
7.  At  the  centre  was  a  body  on  the  left  side,  with  head  to  north,  and 
both  hands  upon  the  knees.  There  were  one  potsherd  and  some 
animal  bones  ;  among  them  the  tine  of  a  red  deer  rubbed  down  into 
a  pointed  implement. 

This  group  of  barrows  has  been  compared  for  a  close  resemblance 
in  the  leading  features  to  those  near  Arras,  by  Market  Weighton, 
excavated  in  181 7,  and  subsequently  by  the  Rev,  E.  ^\^  Stilling- 
fleet  and  Mr.  Clarkson.  They  are  probably  of  the  first  century  of 
our  era,  the  ornaments  showing  the  influence  of  Roman  art  and 
fashion. 

A  large  tumulus  in  the  Mid-Wold  range  of  East  Yorkshire  was 
next  examined.  It  had  contained  upwards  of  twenty  interments. 
This  tumulus  was  56  feet  in  diameter,  and  6  feet  in  length.  A 
foot  below  the  surface  was  found  a  large  bronze  rivet  which  pro- 
bably had  belonged  to  a  dagger,  the  middle  portion  of  which  was 
found  near  the  centre  at  about  the  same  depth.  This  dagger  has 
been  a  large,  strong,  and  beautifully  made  weapon,  with  central  and  side 
ridges  running  to  the  point.  This  was,  however,  altogether  unassociated 
with  any  of  the  burials,  which  were  at  a  much  greater  depth,  and 
presented  an  extraordinary  line  of  bodies,  buried  in  a  great  measure 
on  a  stone  pavement,  and,  although  laid  in  all  possible  positions,  yet 
forming  a  line  of  regular  interments.  The  bodies,  many  of  them  at 
least,  had  been  disturbed  since  burial  :  a  sort  of  rude  order  had  been 
observed  in  their  re-interment,  the  bones  having  been  placed  in 
position,  but  in  many  cases  wrong  end  first.  A  great  number  of 
peculiar  features  were  met  with  in  pottery,  implements,  and  flints, 
carelessly  thrown  in,  for  the  most  part,  among  the  materials  forming 
the  grave  mound.  Among  these  were  a  stone-pounder,  hammer,  or 
rubber,  extensively  "  used  "  at  one  end  ;  a  very  remarkable  square 
(cube)  flint,  all  rubbed  on  the  edges ;  a  long  piercing  implement  of 
flint,  twelve  "  thumb  "  flints,  two  flint  arrow-heads  of  the  leaf  shape — 
one  an  exquisite  specimen ;  enormous  quantities  of  potsherds  of  a 
peculiar  plain  black  ware  ;  part  of  a  cinerary  urn  and  portions  of  a 
drinking  cup  ;  two  handles  of  small  urns,  lying  together,  but  no  urns 
near  ;  a  very  great  number  of  flint  flakes  and  chippings,  and  several 
rounded  stones,  rubbed  flat  on  one  surface ;  one  extraordinary  stone 
utensil  or  implement,  most  like  a  cobbler's  lapstone,  rubbed  very 
smooth,  and  over  a  foot  long ;  a  great  quantity  of  animals'  bones, 
broken  for  the  extraction  of  marrow,  and  among  them  the  teeth  of 
the  ox  and  the  red  deer  in  great  numbers.  In  addition  to  these 
were,  in  association  with  bodies,  a  sickle-shaped  bone  implement 
made  from  a  very  long  tusk  of  the  boar,  split  and  ground,  and  a 
hammer  with  a  square  hole  made  from  the  base  of  a  red  deer's 
antler.     These  were  as  fresh  (after  drying)  as  on  the  day  of  manu- 


122  Septtlchral  Remains. 

facture.  Of  the  seventeen  bodies  traced  three  perfect  skulls  show 
the  long-headed  type  of  a  smallish  people,  supposed  to  be  of  the 
earliest  date,  and  hitherto  found  buried  with  a  peculiarly  plain  black 
pottery,  and  also  with  the  arrow-head  known  as  the  "willow  leaf" 
shape — a  very  delicate  and  highly-enamelled  flint  weapon. 

[1868,  Part  I.,  p.  84.] 

The  Yorkshire  Wold  tumuli  during  the  Rev.  W.  Greenwell's  last 
excavations  for  the  winter  season,  have  furnished  nothing  particularly 
novel,  but  the  repetitions  of  facts  in  scientific  inquiries  are  valuable ; 
and  Mr.  Greenwell  has  now  collected  materials  enough  to  enable 
him  to  place  the  results  of  his  successful  labours  before  the  public, 
with  the  additional  advantage  of  diagrams  and  engravings  [see 
Note  12]. 

The  estate  of  Lord  Londesborough  at  Willerby  was  the  site  of  the 
most  recent  excavations.  The  first  tumulus  opened,  68  feet  in 
diameter,  and  3^  feet  high,  was  formed  of  earth  ;  pieces  of  flint,  pot- 
sherds, and  charcoal  being  mixed  with  the  earth  of  the  mound.  Over 
the  centre  was  about  one-third  of  a  plain  urn,  in  a  rabbit-hole,  the 
rabbits  in  borrowing  having  doubtless  disturbed  the  burial,  if  a 
cremated  one.  At  the  centre  was  an  oval  grave,  made  east  and  west, 
6  feet  by  5  feet,  and  2  feet  3  inches  deep.  At  the  west  end  was  a 
body,  as  usual,  doubled  up.  Before  the  face  was  a  fine  urn  with  four 
pierced  ears,  entirely  covered  with  herring-bone  work,  the  markings 
being  m.ade  in  the  clay  by  a  pointed  stick  or  other  implement. 
Behind  the  skull  of  the  skeleton  were  two  flint  knives,  and  four  un- 
worked  flints,  forming  a  circle  round  the  head.  Clay  was  deposited 
over  the  grave. 

The  second  barrow,  45  feet  in  diameter,  and  2  feet  high,  was  formed 
of  soil  and  chalk  rubble.  Among  the  materials  were  many  worked 
flints  and  potsherds  ;  among  the  flints  was  a  fine  long  flake,  much 
used,  as  if  with  scraping.  At  8  feet  east  of  the  centre  was  a  deposit  of 
four  bodies  upon  the  natural  surface.  The  bodies  were  those  of  an 
adult  (believed  to  be  a  woman) ;  and  three  children,  from  three  to 
ten  years  of  age.  Apparently  all  four  had  been  interred  at  the  same 
time.  Nothing  whatever  was  buried  with  them.  At  the  centre  of  the 
barrow  was  a  large  grave  5  feet  diameter  and  4  feet  deep.  In  it  was 
the  body  of  a  strongly  made  young  man  of  about  twenty-five  years, 
the  skull  almost  perfect.  The  body  was  on  the  left  side,  in  the 
doubled-up  position,  with  the  head  to  the  north-west,  the  left  hand  up 
to  the  face,  and  the  right  hand  on  the  breast.  The  bottom  of  this  grave 
was  a  solid  floor  of  chalk,  and  upon  that  solid  floor  was  a  carefully 
arranged  pavement  of  slabs  of  chalk,  on  which  the  body  had  been 
laid.  The  burial  had  been  covered  with  turf,  and  the  rest  of  the 
grave  filled  in  with  chalk.  This  burial  was  not  the  original  one  in  the 
centre.      The  filling  in  of  the  grave  revealed  fragments  of  human 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  iix 


a 


bones  which  had  been  disturbed  to  introduce  the  central  but  later 
interment.  Indeed,  numerous  examples  of  disturbed  bodies,  for 
after-interments,  have  now  been  noticed  in  the  Wold  barrows.  The 
Rev.  Canon  Greenwell  will  open  the  tnmuli  on  the  estates  of  Sir 
Tatton  Sykes,  at  Linton,  and  of  Mr.  T.  W.  Revis,  D.L.,  at  Duggleby  ; 
and  subsequently  in  this  month  those  on  the  Moor  estates  of  Lord 
Feversham,  in  North  Yorkshire. 

Miscellaneous   Excavations. 

Biggleswade,   Bedford. 

[1S23,  Part  II. ,  p.  269.] 

As  some  workmen  in  the  employ  of  John  Day,  Esq.,  were  lately 
digging  the  foundation  of  a  farm-house  near  Biggleswade,  County 
Bedford,  they  suddenly  struck  upon  something  hard,  which  upon  in- 
vestigation proved  to  be  a  helmet  of  most  exquisite  workmanship. 
After  the  earth  had  been  partially  cleared  away,  they  discovered  some 
human  bones  ;  this  induced  them  to  make  further  search,  and  shortly 
afterwards  they  turned  up  a  ponderous  metallic  substance  of  an  oval 
form,  like  a  shield  ;  a  few  inches  lower  they  found  more  human  bones, 
and  before  night,  when  the  whole  was  cleared  away,  they  distinctly  made 
out  the  skeleton  of  a  man  and  horse  ;  the  man  appeared  to  have  been 
clothed  in  a  complete  suit  of  armour,  which  was  nearly  perfect,  though 
somewhat  disjointed.  He  appeared  to  have  been  of  gigantic  stature ; 
the  sword,  which  was  very  ponderous,  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  horse.  On 
the  following  morning,  whilst  pursuing  their  occupation,  the  workmen 
discovered  some  other  skeletons  of  men  and  horses,  all  standing  in  an 
erect  position,  clothed  in  armour,  and  nearly  as  perfect  as  the  first 
which  was  discovered.  Mr.  Day,  with  great  liberality,  is  proceeding 
in  a  further  search,  as  from  the  position  of  the  skeleton  already  found, 
and  the  marshy  nature  of  the  ground,  little  doubt  is  entertained  but 
many  more  will  be  found,  and  that  it  must  have  been  a  whole  body 
of  horse  which  unfortunately  fell  into  some  snare  of  an  enemy,  and 
were  thus  swallowed  up  [see  Note  13]. 

ROYSTON. 
[1856,  Part  II.,  p.  625.] 

An  excavation  of  remote  origin  has  been  recently  discovered  on 
Royston  Heath,  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  hill  near  to  the  old  British 
and  Roman  Ickneld  Way,  and  to  a  number  of  British  tumuli.  The 
spot  in  question,  before  it  was  opened,  presented  the  form  of  a  hollow 
oval,  surrounded  by  a  very  low  bank,  and  flanked  on  the  north-east  by 
a  truncated  mound,  which  had  the  appearance  of  having  been 
disturbed.  A  small  hillock  within  the  circular  bank,  but  most 
probably  accidental,  gave  to  the  place  a  somewhat  Druidical 
character.     The  hollow  oval  lies  in  a  direction  north-west  and  south- 


124  Septdchral  Remains. 

east.  Its  length  is  about  31  feet,  by  a  breadth  of  about  22  feet. 
Within  the  bank  are  two  circular  excavations,  meeting|together  in  the 
middle,  and  nearly  forming  the  figure  8.  Both  excavations  descend 
by  concentric  and  contracting  rings  to  the  walls  which  form  the  sides 
of  the  chambers;  the  depth  from  the  surface  of  the  southern  excava- 
tion being  nearly  7  feet,  from  that  of  the  northern  about  5  feet.  The 
southern  chamber  has  an  upright  wall  to  the  height  of  nearly  4  feet ; 
the  wall  of  the  northern  chamber  gradually  recedes  almost  from  the 
floor.  A  division-wall  about  2  feet  6  inches  high  in  the  southern 
chamber,  and  about  i  foot  in  the  northern  chamber,  with  an  opening 
about  3  feet  wide  between  the  shoulders,  separates  the  two  chambers. 
The  southern  may  be  compared  to  an  ampulla,  with  the  foot  turned 
inwards  ;  the  northern  to  an  egg,  or  an  ace  of  spades.  The  northern 
chamber  is  about  7  feet  from  north  to  south,  by  about  6  feet  from  east 
to  west  at  the  broadest  part.  A  bench  runs  round  it  on  the  west  side, 
about  I  foot  high  above  the  floor,  by  about  i  foot  broad,  and  a 
similar  bench  occupies  a  small  portion  of  the  east  side  also.  Various 
ancient  and  mediseval  relics  were  found  ;  but  these  do  not  seem  to 
shed  any  light  on  the  original  purpose  of  the  excavation. 

Beacon  Hill,  Carlisle. 

[17S9,  Part  IL,  p.  662.] 

A  few  days  ago,  as  Mr.  Rigg,  surgeon  in  Aspatria,  near  Carlisle, 
was  superintending  some  labourers  he  had  employed  in  levelling  an 
artificial  mount,  called  the  Beacon  Hill,  close  behind  his  house,  in 
that  village,  they  dug  into  a  cavity  which  contained  the  skeleton  of 
a  man,  entire  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  ankle-bone.  Across 
the  forehead,  or  more  properly  at  the  head  of  this  gigantic  skeleton, 
was  found  a  sword,  the  blade  of  which  is  remarkably  broad,  and  the 
whole  length — including  the  handle,  which  is  strongly  plated,  and 
ornamented  both  with  gold  and  silver — is  5  feet.  Several  pieces 
of  armour  were  also  found,  and  a  dirk,  or  hanger,  the  handle  of 
which  appears  to  be  highly  ornamented  and  studded  with  silver.  A 
belt  was  also  dug  up,  the  buckle  of  which  is  supposed  to  be  gold ; 
and  a  breastplate.  The  scabbard  of  the  sword  is  of  wood,  and  has 
been  lined  with  cloth,  a  part  of  which  adheres  to  the  rust  on  the 
blade.  The  place  in  which  these  remains  were  found  is  about  3 
yards  deep,  measuring  from  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  as  many  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground  at  its  base  :  the  last  depth  is  walled 
round,  and  the  cavity  was  covered  with  large  stones,  on  some  of 
which  are  inscriptions,  not  yet  understood. 

Deverill  Barrow,  Dorset. 

[1824,  Pari  11. ,  p.  547.] 

Mr.  Charles  Hall,  of  Ansty,  has  published  the  following  interesting 
account  of  opening  some  tumuli  or  barrows  in  the  county  of  Dorset : 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  125 

Two  gentlemen,  Messrs.  Miles  and  Atkinson,  surveying  the  county 
of  Dorset,  have  lately  opened   several   of  the  barrows  on  Deverill 
Down,  near  the  turnpike-road  between  Milbourne  St.  Andrew  and 
Whitchurch.     In  one  very  low  and  small  tumulus  they  found  a  per- 
fect human    skeleton,  more  than  6  feet  in  length ;    the  thigh-bone 
measured  more  than    tS  inches  in  length.     In  another  barrow  they 
found   a  great   number  of  flints,  exactly  like  those  recently  taken 
out  of  a  chalk-pit,  white  on  the  outside  and  quite  black  within  :  these 
stones  were  nicely  packed  in  the  form  of  a  cone,  over  the  urns  that 
were  inclosed  in  this  barrow.      In  all  the  others  that  were  opened 
urns  were  found.     One  very  large,  high,  and  circular  barrow  claims 
the  particular  attention  of  the  antiquary.     There  are  twenty-seven 
stones  now  all  exposed  to  view,  their  weight  supposed  to  be  from  two 
tons  each  to  half  a  ton.     On  the  east  side  stands  an  upright  stone, 
about  5  feet  in  height,  surrounded  by  nine  others,  forming  part  of 
a  circle.     Under  each  of  these  stones,  in  a  chamber  or  hole  in  the 
natural  chalk,  was  deposited  an  urn  of  extremely  rude  but  curious 
workmanship  :  no  urn  was  found  under  the  upright  stone,  which  was 
supposed  to  have  been  the  altar,   from  the  circumstance  of  there 
being  found,  at  the  hole,  the  bones  and  teeth  of  an  animal,  supposed 
to  have  been  those  of  the  victim  sacrificed.     The  stones  appear  to  be 
of  a  whitish  coloured  sand,  cemented  by  a  natural  crystallization. 
Twenty-five  urns  were  discovered   in  this  barrow,  beside  two  very 
small  ones,  which  are  called  drinking-cups  :  they  will  contain   but 
little  more  than  half  a  pint.     The  urns  were  all  of  British   or  un- 
baked pottery,  varying  in  size  from  6  inches  to  20  in   height,  and 
from  3  to  1 1  inches  in  diameter,  some  of  them  thimble-shaped,  and 
others  bilge-shaped.     Sir  Richard  Hoare  has  seen  this  barrow,  which 
he  says  is  wonderfully  interesting  to  the  skilful  antiquary,  as,  in  open- 
ing two  hundred  barrows,  which  Sir  Richard  has  done,  he  never  met 
with  one  like  this.     It  is  supposed  to  be  the  burial-place  of  a  Druid 
and  his  family.     That  it  was  the  burial-place  of  a  family  of  high  rank 
is  certain. 

\\^z(i,Part  I., p.  352.] 

Several  fine  urns,  lately  found  in  Deverill  Barrow,  in  the  county 
of  Dorset,  have  been  presented  to  the  Bristol  Institution ;  they  con- 
stitute rich  specimens  of  the  patriarchal  customs  and  funeral  rites  of 
the  ancient  Cimbri. 

MUCKLEFORD. 
[1832,  Part  II.,  p.  165.] 

On  opening  a  barrow  at  Muckleford,  near  Dorchester,  a  few  days 
since,  a  large  stone  was  found  under  the  centre,  of  a  triangular  form, 
convex  on  the  top,  and  nearly  5  feet  from  angle  to  angle.  It  was 
of  so  hard  a  nature  that  the  tools  would  make  no  impression  on  it. 
On  removing  this  stone,  which  was  with  difficulty  effected  by  six 


126  Sepulchral  Remains. 

horses,  it  was  found  to  be  flat  at  the  bottom,  and  about  2%  feet 
thick  in  the  middle,  decreasing  to  about  i  foot  at  the  sides.  It 
was  supposed  to  weigh  two  tons  and  a  half  at  least.  Underneath 
was  a  quantity  of  rubble  chalk,  in  which,  at  a  further  depth  of  about 
6  feet,  were  the  bones  of  a  human  being,  and  with  them  the  head 
of  a  spear,  with  three  rivets,  and  also  a  pin,  about  6  inches  long, 
with  a  double  head. 

Wareham,  Dorsetshire. 
[1838, /'«r//.,/.  303.] 

A  barrow,  crowning  the  brow  of  a  hill  on  the  wild  heath  near 
Wareham,  has  lately  been  opened,  and  found  to  contain  so  many  as 
twenty-four  urns.  In  this  respect  it  even  exceeds  the  celebrated 
Deverill  Barrow,  opened  by  William  Augustus  Miles,  Esq.,  some 
years  since,  in  this  county ;  although  the  urns  contained  in  it  are  of 
much  ruder  workmanship  and  material.,  bespeaking  a  far  earlier  era. 
In  this  tumulus  the  urns  were  all  found  at  different  heights,  and 
above  the  surface  of  the  surrounding  soil.  In  the  Deverill  Barrow 
the  far  greater  number  were  placed  in  cists  below  the  original  ground, 
and  each  carefully  covered  with  an  unhewn  monumental  stone  or 
rock.  One  of  the  urns  exhumed  from  the  present  barrow  is  of  small 
dimensions ;  and  from  its  lightness  may  be  supposed  to  be  entirely 
filled  with  bones,  which  are  concealed  by  a  hard  crust  of  earth,  raised 
like  a  dome  above  the  rim.  Its  upper  part  is  ornamented  with  five 
prominent  circles  or  rings  ;  and  it  is  not  only  in  perfect  preservation, 
but  is  the  most  finished  of  all  which  have  yet  been  discovered.  But 
none  of  them  are  so  elegantly  formed  as  many  of  the  Deverill  urns  ; 
nor  is  there  on  any  the  least  appearance  of  the  favourite  zigzag  or 
chevron  ornament  of  the  Britons,  so  frequently  found  on  Egyptian 
and  Saxon  architectural  remains.  Another  of  these  urns,  and  of  course 
the  latest  interment,  was  found  very  near  the  surface,  covered  with 
an  unhewn  flat  stone,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  it  from  injury. 
The  question  now  naturally  arises,  was  this  grand  barrow  the  ceme- 
tery of  some  once-celebrated  family,  or  that  of  a  succession  of  chiefs 
who  filled  the  same  office  in  council  and  in  field  ?  Either  the  one 
or  the  other  it  was  most  assuredly.  It  is  remarkable  that  at  the 
bottom  of  one  of  the  vases  is  portrayed  a  cross,  partly  raised  and 
partly  grooved. 

PiDDLEHINTON    DoWN. 
[1831,  /'<7r^ //.,/.  552.] 

As  some  labourers  were  lately  digging  for  stones,  for  the  formation 
of  a  new  road  over  Piddlehinton  Down,  Dorset,  they  struck  into  a 
barrow,  on  excavating  which  two  urns  of  unburnt  pottery  were  found, 
full  of  ashes  and  burnt  bones.  They  were  decidedly  British,  from  8 
to  10  inches  high,  and  of  an  almost  globular  shape,  ornamented 
merely  with  the  customary  line  of  dots. 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  127 

LULWORTH. 
[1825,  Part  /.,  //.  69,  70.] 

The  following  is  an  account  of  some  interesting  remains  of  the 
ancient  Autochthones  of  Dorsetshire,  communicated  by  a  correspon- 
dent to  the  Dorset  County  Chronicle.  They  were  discovered  some 
time  since  on  the  Domains  of  Lulworth. 

"  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  romantic  village  of  that  name, 
a  fine  dome-shaped  barrow  of  large  dimensions,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  numerous  others,  was  fixed  on  for  the  purpose  of  exhuma- 
tion, and  opened  accordingly.  After  penetrating  about  3  feet  within 
the  surface,  a  belt  of  large  flints,  embedded  in  the  earth,  was  dis- 
covered surrounding  the  barrow  to  a  certain  height,  and  seemed 
designed  as  a  protection  to  the  sacred  relics  in  its  centre ;  where  a 
curiously  vaulted  sepulchre  or  kistvaen  was  found,  composed  of  rude 
sand  stones,  full  3  feet  in  height  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
25  feet  in  circumference  !  It  was  so  ingeniously  formed  into  a 
regular  and  solid  arch  or  dome,  and  so  firmly  united  together,  with- 
out any  cement,  as  to  completely  resist  the  vast  weight  of  the  super- 
incumbent earth  which  formed  the  tumulus. 

"  On  removing  the  stones  and  opening  this  gloomy  chamber  of 
death,  into  which  neither  the  sunbeams  of  morning  nor  the  purple 
ray  of  evening  had  for  so  many  ages  entered,  a  large  urn,  in  perfect 
preservation,  and  containing  loose  human  bones,  mingled  with  a  ver5r 
small  px)rtion  of  ashes,  appeared  in  a  leaning  position  directly  in  the 
centre,  and  resting  on  a  large  flat  stone.  Around  it  were  placed 
several  upright  stones,  the  tops  of  which,  pointing  towards  each  other 
over  the  urn,  formed  almost  a  second  dome. 

"  The  inner  circle  of  stones  appeared  to  have  been  brought  from 
the  seashore,  as  they  were  evidently  worn  into  small  cavities  by  the 
action  of  the  waves.  This  1  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  was  the 
tomb  of  a  chief,  whose  sepulchre,  with  its  inner  circle  of  stones, 
seems  to  have  been  raised  in  imitation  of  their  temples,  the  most 
ancient  of  all  religious  edifices,  if  such  places  of  worship  may  be  so 
termed,  and  in  which  were  offered  '  the  sacrifices  of  the  dead  !' 

"  Near  to  this  barrow  three  others  were  opened,  all  of  them  con- 
taining similar  vaulted  tombs,  but  of  much  smaller  dimensions,  with 
inclosed  urns.  One  of  these  kistvaens  was  erected  on  the  south  side 
of  the  tumulus.  These  were  no  doubt  also  Druidical ;  and  what 
leads  me  the  more  strongly  to  consider  them  as  such,  is  the  certainty 
that  not  far  from  the  site  of  these  barrows  stood  once  a  sacred  circle, 
or  Temple  of  the  Sun,  and  perhaps  a  cromlech.  Till  lately  two  of 
its  vast  stones  or  pillars,  brought  from  their  original  situation,  of 
which  some  faint  remembrance  is  yet  preserved  in  the  neighbourhood, 
were  still  to  be  seen  ;  one  stood  upright,  and  the  other  lay  on  the 
ground.     The  latter  has  been  broken  to  pieces  by  a  farmer  to  make 


128  Sepulchral  Remains. 

a  bridge,  and  had  he  not  found  the  other  useful  by  way  of  a  gate- 
post, it  would  no  doubt  ere  this  have  shared  a  similar  fate. 

"  Among  the  numerous  tumuli  that  may  be  seen,  far  and  near,  to 
surround  this  once  sacred  spot,  two  others  were  opened,  about  the 
same  time  with  those  I  have  already  mentioned.  In  one  of  them, 
after  penetrating  to  the  centre,  a  large  flat  sea-stone  was  found; 
which  being  removed,  and  nothing  to  be  perceived  beneath  it,  the 
search  was  continued  by  digging  deeper ;  at  length  another  large  flat 
sand-stone  was  found  in  a  perpendicular  line  below  the  surface,  under 
which  nothing  could  be  discovered  but  fine  black  mould  ;  proceeding 
still  lower,  a  third  flat  stone  was  taken  up,  and  beneath  it  the  urn  lay 
embedded  in  white  sand.  In  the  other  a  large  crucible-shaped  urn, 
ornamented  with  an  indented  border  of  straight  lines  near  the  edge, 
appeared  in  the  centre,  and  two  small  ones  were  placed  leaning 
against  its  sides.  These  urns,  I  should  imagine,  held  the  ashes  of  a 
warrior  and  his  two  sons,  who  died  or  perished  in  battle  very  young. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  they  were  those  of  a  female  and  her  two 
children  ;  but  I  do  not  think  that  probable,  unless  we  allow  the  female 
to  have  been  an  Amazonian  Queen  among  the  Durotrigians,  or  their 
exterminating  conquerors  the  Morini. 

"  The  whole  of  these  tumuli  described  are  remarkable,  and  worthy 
to  be  recorded  peculiarities  in  the  Celtic  interments,  and  unlike  any 
to  be  met  wnth  in  Sir  Richard  Hoare,  Dr.  Stukeley,  or  even  King's 
'  Munimenta  Antiqua.' 

"  Another  still  more  singular  discovery  has  been  made  in  the  dark- 
brown  wilds  of  the  adjacent  heath — even  that  of  combustion  and  in- 
humation without  urns  /  The  ashes  of  the  dead  appeared  to  have 
been  mixed  up  with  the  blood  of  some  victim,  and  moulded  into  the 
shape  of  a  globe,  then  laid  in  a  small  cist,  and  carefully  surrounded 
with  stones,  over  which  was  raised  a  small  barrow.  These  are  devia- 
tions from  a  custom  on  which  no  antiquary,  ancient  or  modern,  has 
thrown  any  light.  It  however  appears  to  me  quite  evident  that  this 
rude  manner  of  interment  was  either  anterior  to  the  formation  of  the 
rudest  vases  of  the  Kelts,  or  that  these  singular  barrows  contained 
the  remains  of  some  inferior  personages,  for  whom,  although  their 
ashes  were  not  inurned,  their  friends  were  anxious  to  obtain  the 
honour  of  a  solemn  burning. 

"  G.  C.  P.  thinks  it  strange  that  no  authentic  record  is  extant 
respecting  British  tumuli,  etc.  Allusions  to  them  may  be  found  in 
the  old  Welch  or  Cambrian  bards ;  but  if  he  will  recollect  that 
almost  every  work  of  the  ancients  that  would  have  illuminated  the 
mysterious  subject,  and  dispersed  the  clouds  that  must  now  for  ever 
hang  over  it,  has  lamentably  perished,  he  will  no  longer  be  surprised. 
The  great  work  of  Polybius  on  the  trade  of  tin,  which  would  have 
given  us  much  interesting  matter  relative  to  the  particular  manners 
.and  customs,  as  well  as  commercial  affairs  of  the  Britons,  is  entirely 


Aliscellancotis  Excavaiio7ts.  129 

lost.  Livy's  "  History  of  Caesar's  First  Invasion  of  this  Island,"  and 
that  of  his  second,  written  by  Claudius,  have  shared  the  same  fate  ; 
while  those  very  parts  of  other  classic  writers  which  relate  to  British 
concerns  are  buried  in  eternal  oblivion.  J.  F.  P. 

Borough  Hills,  Essex. 

[1840,  Part  II.,  p.  114.] 

In  reading  an  account  of  Essex,  I  find  the  following  :  "  The 
Borough,  or  rather  Barrow  Hills,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Black 
Water  Bay,  were  considerable  in  number.  These  tumuli  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  raised  indiscriminately  over  the  bodies  of  the 
Danes  and  Saxons  that  fell  in  the  battles  occasioned  by  the  frequent 
landing  of  the  former  in  this  part  of  the  coast.  The  lands  on  which 
the  barrow  hills  stood  were  completely  inclosed  from  the  sea  in 
1807,  and  the  whole  are  now  levelled,  07ie  excepted.'''' 

This  barrow  I  heard  was  going  to  be  cleared  away  for  manure.  I 
made  a  point  of  visiting  it  under  an  idea  that  it  might  be  proved  a 
Roman  one ;  when  I  arrived  at  the  spot,  I  found  it  to  be  a  bowl 
barrow,  about  14  yards  diameter,  and  about  6  or  7  feet  high,  and 
rather  more  than  half  of  it  cut  away,  and  what  surprises  me,  not  a 
single  urn,  bone,  or  ashes,  nor  any  mark  to  be  found ;  perhaps  the 
barrows  being  mostly  under  water  during  the  tide  may  account  for 
the  disappearance  of  bones,  etc.,  if  there  ever  were  any  placed;  or 
rather  that  the  Danes  and  Saxons  were  not  so  careful  as  the  Romans 
in  preserving  the  remains  of  their  friends.  I  met  one  of  the  old  in- 
habitants w^ho  lived  in  the  parish  more  than  forty  years  ;  he  remem- 
bered the  number  of  barrows  being  destroyed,  and  said  not  a  single 
bone  or  urn  was  ever  found  in  them. 

Perhaps  you  can  give  me  some  information,  whether  by  digging 
below  the  natural  surface  of  the  ground,  any  remains  may  be  traced. 
It  is  not  a  gravelled,  but  a  clean,  light  clay  soil.  The  land  is  low  and 
marshy,  and  celebrated  for  Maiden  salt,  and  near  it  there  is  a  decoy. 

Yours  faithfully,         J.  A.  Repton. 

Duntesbourne-Abbots,  Gloucestershire. 
[1S06,  Part  II.,  p.  971.] 

A  few  days  since  a  large  oblong  British  or  Danish  barrow  was 
opened  in  the  parish  of  Duntesbourne-Abbots,  Gloucestershire ;  in 
which  was  found  a  kistvaen,  or  cromlech,  containing  about  eight  or 
nine  bodies  of  different  ages,  many  of  the  bones  of  which,  and  the 
teeth,  were  entire.  The  whole  length  of  the  barrow,  diagonally,  was 
about  50  yards ;  straight  over  the  stones  about  40 ;  the  width  about 
30  yards  ;  and  the  distance  between  the  two  great  stones  24  feet. 
The  barrow  was  composed  of  loose  quarry-stones,  laid  in  strata  near 
the  great  stones,  and  brought  from  a  distance.  The  largest  stone, 
which   has  been  long  known  in  the  country  by  the  name  of  the 

VOL.    V.  9 


Sepulchral  Remains. 


Horse  Stone,  is  of  the  kind  of  Grey  Withers,  or  Stonehenge  :  it  is 
flat  on  the  east  side,  and  round  on  the  side  which  is  in  the  barrow  ; 
is  12  feet  high  from  the  base,  and  13  in  circumference.  The  other 
stone  Hes  ahiiost  flat  on  the  ground,  and  is  about  3  yards  square, 
and  I  foot  thick.  This  covers  the  kistvaen  which  contains  the  bones, 
and  which  is  divided  into  two  cells,  about  4  feet  square  each,  and  6 
deep.  There  is  little  doubt  of  its  being  British.  There  are  several 
other  barrows  in  the  neighbourhood ;  and  it  is  singular  that  the  farm 
adjoining  is  called  Tack  Barrows,  probably  a  corruption  or  abbrevia- 
tion of  some  other  name.  The  bones  are  reburied,  but  the  barrow 
and  the  tomb  will  be  left  open  some  time  longer,  for  the  inspection 
of  the  curious. 

Sherborne,    Gloucestershire, 

[1829,  Part  I.,  p.  460.] 

As  some  workmen  were  lately  excavating  a  cellar,  under  part  of 
the  mansion  of  the  Right  Hon.  Lord  Sherborne,  at  Sherborne,  in 
Gloucestershire,  they  discovered  four  ancient  stone  coffins  of 
immense  weight.  Three  of  them  were  without  covers,  and  one  was 
covered  with  a  lid  about  three-fourths  of  its  length,  with  a  star 
engraved  on  the  part  over  the  breast.  The  heads  were  almost 
perfect,  but  there  were  no  inscriptions. 

HORTON. 

[1844,  /'<z;-/ //.,/.  636.] 

A  few  weeks  since,  as  some  labourers  employed  on  Crickstone 
Farm,  in  the  parish  of  Horton,  Gloucestershire,  were  ploughing  over 
a  mound  on  an  elevated  piece  of  ground,  called  Church  Hill,  the 
earth  suddenly  gave  way  under  one  of  the  horses,  and  it  was  found 
that  an  entrance  had  thus  been  effected  into  a  rude  chamber 
measuring  4  feet  in  each  direction,  and  containing  the  remains  of 
six  or  eight  human  bodies,  together  with  a  vessel  of  very  primitive 
shape,  made  from  a  blue  sort  of  earth,  and  apparently  baked  in  the 
sun,  as  it  evidently  had  not  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  fire. 
Some  charred  human  bodies  were  also  found,  which  had  probably 
been  the  occupants  of  the  vessel  in  question,  as  they  were  found 
near  the  same  spot.  The  falling  in  of  the  earth  and  stones,  and  the 
unscientific  exploration  of  the  workmen,  however,  render  an  accurate 
description  impossible.  The  bodies  seemed  to  have  been  indis- 
criminately placed,  and  appeared  as  though  they  had  been  in  a  sitting 
posture.  The  size  of  the  chamber  would  not  allow  of  their  being 
extended  at  length.  The  sides  and  top  were  formed  of  single  flat 
stones,  around  and  ou^^side  of  which  smaller  stones  had  been  loosely 
built  up  in  the  form  of  a  wall.  Connected  with  this,  and  lying  at 
right  angles  on  the  eastern  side,  was  another  opening  similar  to  the 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  131 

former.  The  dimensions  were  about  6  feet  by  2^  feetj  in  this 
also  were  the  remains  of  two  bodies.  Supposing  that  this  was  not 
a  solitary  vault,  openings  were  made  in  several  places  in  the  mound, 
which  was  of  about  40  feet  in  diameter,  and  appeared  throughout  to 
be  constructed  of  loosely  built  up  stones,  of  the  same  description  as 
those  dug  up  from  the  neighbouring  quarry ;  and  about  a  week  after- 
wards another  chamber,  similarly  formed  to  the  last,  of  about  6  feet 
by  4  feet,  and  lying  about  1 2  feet  distance  to  the  west,  was  dis- 
covered. In  this  were  fourteen  or  fifteen  human  skeletons,  all  with 
heads  to  the  east.     The  bodies  must  have  been  of  all  ages  and  sizes. 

Nympsfield,  Gloucestershire. 

[1862,  Part  II.,  p.  529.3 

A  chambered  tumulus,  which  had  been  discovered  a  short  time 
before  in  a  partially  ploughed  field  at  Nympsfield,  Gloucestershire, 
was  opened  in  August  last,  under  the  superintendence  of  some 
members  of  the  Cotteswold  Naturalists'  Club.  The  longitudinal  area 
of  the  sepulchre  was  defined  by  eight  massive  unwrought  slabs  of 
oolite,  laid  in  pairs,  and  varying  from  3  feet  to  4  feet  in  width.  The 
entrance  was  at  the  east  end.  It  soon  became  obvious,  from  the 
disturbed  state  of  the  interior,  that  the  barrow  had  been  broken  into 
and  plundered  at  some  former  period.  A  great  number  of  bones  of 
both  sexes  were  strewn  around,  indicating  that  the  tumulus  was  the 
burying  vault  of  some  family  or  tribe,  and  not,  as  was  at  first  sus- 
pected, the  sepulchre  of  heroes.  Altogether  thirty-four  femora  were 
discovered,  together  with  a  skull,  22  inches  in  circumference,  some 
jaw-bones,  several  of  which  evidently  belonged  to  children,  a  piece  of 
half-burnt  pottery,  some  flint  flakes,  a  boar's  tusk,  some  pig's  bones 
and  incisor  teeth.  The  whole  of  these  objects  were  removed,  and 
have  been  deposited,  pro  tempore,  in  the  museum  of  the  Agricultural 
College  at  Cirencester,  where  they  are  open  to  inspection. 

St.  Giles's  Hill,  Winchester, 

[1827,  Part  I.,  p.  555.] 

As  some  workmen  were  lately  digging  a  vault  at  the  burial  ground 
on  St.  Giles's  Hill,  near  Winchester,  they  discovered  an  ancient  coffin 
hewn  out  of  chalk,  quite  complete.  On  opening  it,  a  very  perfect 
skeleton  was  found,  with  sandals  on  the  feet ;  the  teeth  appeared 
sound,  and  the  body  was  enveloped  with  some  kind  of  linen,  which 
was  so  decomposed  as  not  to  allow  of  removal.  The  bones  of  the 
feet  were  standing  erect,  having  been  supported  by  the  sandals  ;  but 
on  the  slightest  touch  they  mouldered  to  dust.  An  antique  urn,  com- 
posed of  metal,  was  taken  from  the  left  side  of  the  coffin,  and  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Wm.  Coles,  builder,  of  Winchester.  There 
was  no  inscription  either  on  the  urn  or  coffin. 

9—2 


132  Sepulchral  Remains. 


New  Forest,  Hampshire. 

[1825,  Part  I.,  pp.  636,637.] 

Lymington,  that  part  of  the  New  Forest  which  adjoins  a  place 
called  Shirley  Holmes,  indicates  that  it  was  at  some  remote  period 
not  only  thickly  inhabited,  but  strongly  fortified  in  that  peculiar 
manner  which  the  early  British  adopted  to  secure  themselves 
against  the  inroads  of  their  enemies.  The  principal  encampment 
or  town  is  surrounded  by  double  and  treble  banks  and  ditches, 
and  situated  on  the  point  of  a  gently  sloping  hill.  There  are 
innumerable  banks  branching  off  in  various  directions,  and  to  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  camp,  varying  in  size  and  strength, 
as  the  liability  of  the  situation  to  assault  required.  About  300 
yards  from  the  enclosed  area  are  several  tumuli,  encompassed,  as 
is  generally  the  case,  by  small  banks  forming  different  angles.  One 
of  these  barrows  measures  140  yards  in  circumference,  and  has 
been  i  2  or  15  feet  high  (part  being  removed),  encircled  by  a  fosse. 
There  are  others  of  small  dimensions,  two  of  which  were  some 
years  ago  opened  by  Mr.  Warner,  author  of  the  "  History  of 
Lymington."  Another,  which  is  within  a  few  yards  of  the  latter,  was 
left  untouched,  and  it  is  probable  it  might  have  been  overlooked  at 
the  time  from  its  being  so  much  depressed,  it  not  being  more  than  18 
or  20  inches  above  the  natural  soil.  This  barrow  was  about  a  week 
since  opened  by  two  gentlemen  who  are  connected  with  Messrs. 
Greenwood  and  Kentish  in  a  new  survey  of  this  county.  On  remov- 
ing part  of  the  barrow  an  urn  was  discovered,  which  was  placed  in  an 
inverted  position  in  a  cist,  or  cell,  formed  in  the  natural  soil,  deep 
enough  to  receive  the  urn,  about  3  inches  only  appearing  above  the 
level.  Its  content  were  wood  ashes  intermixed  with  a  portion  of 
sand  and  small  pieces  of  bone  highly  calcined.  The  urn  was  nearly 
decomposed,  and  required  great  care  to  extract  it :  its  depth  was  about 
16  inches;  diameter  at  the  top,  11  inches;  bottom,  4  inches  ;  and 
the  greatest  diameter  in  the  middle,  about  13  inches.  The  urn  was 
surrounded  by  a  quantity  of  black  earth  and  sand,  which  had 
evidently  undergone  the  action  of  fire.  Over  the  urn  was  a  thin 
covering  of  fine  white  sand,  in  which  pieces  of  charcoal  were  found. 
The  whole  was  then  protected  by  the  gravel  and  heath  soil  which 
formed  the  barrow.  No  pieces  of  warlike  implements,  coins,  or 
trinkets,  were  found.  The  urn  was  made  of  very  coarse  clay,  un- 
burnt,  and  of  the  simplest  workmanship.  Taking  these  circumstances 
into  consideration,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  if  any,  but  this  is  a  truly 
British  work.  Its  contiguity  to  Buckland  Rings  is  no  proof  that  it  is 
either  Saxon  or  Danish,  as  some  have  imagined. 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  133 


The  Isle  op  Wight. 
[1863,  Pari  II.,  p.  441.] 

The  Rev.  W.  Fox,  of  Brixton,  has  deposited  in  the  Newport 
Museum  a  British  urn  containing  burnt  human  bones,  which  he 
recently  excavated  at  the  very  edge  of  the  cUff  opposite  Brixton.  It 
was  inverted  upon  a  flat  piece  of  clay  resembling  a  tile. 

Newington,  Kent. 
[1760,/.  371.] 

The  parishioners  of  Newington,  near  Hythe,  in  Kent,  being  at  work 
on  the  highways,  on  Wednesday,  the  nth  of  June,  in  grubbing  up  a 
hedge,  in  order  to  widen  the  road,  at  a  place  called  Milky  Down,  in 
that  parish,  found  a  skeleton  of  human  bones,  which  appeared  perfect, 
except  that  the  skull  seemed  to  have  been  fractured,  or  much  bruised, 
and  there  remained  a  good  set  of  teeth  firm  in  their  sockets.  The 
body  seemed  not  to  have  been  laid  out  at  length,  but  doubled  and 
thrust  into  a  hole ;  no  signs  of  any  hair,  linen,  or  woollen  garments 
were  found,  nor  any  marks  of  a  box  or  coffin ;  but  about  the  place 
where  the  neck  lay  were  taken  up  various  sorts  of  beads,  of  different 
sizes,  shapes,  colours,  and  compositions,  all  with  holes  through  them 
as  if  strung  for  a  necklace ;  some  were  in  the  shape  of  drops  for 
earrings,  and  we  think  are  agate,  or  they  may  be  glass  of  that  colour, 
some  of  the  lesser  ones  were  pebbles,  others  glass,  coral,  or  a  red 
earthenware  :  small  wire  was  found  with  them,  but  too  much  decayed 
to  preserve.  At  or  near  the  same  place  two  more  skeletons  were  dug 
up  a  few  days  after ;  with  one  was  found  some  small  beads,  as  with 
the  former  ;  these  had  the  appearance  of  having  been  laid  in  coffins, 
but  quite  decayed,  and  the  handles,  on  moving  them,  crumbled  away 
to  dust. 

Kent. 

[1822,  Part  II., p.  84.] 

As  some  workmen  were  lately  ploughing  in  a  field  belonging  to  Mr, 
George  Fowle,  situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Kits  Conti 
House,  Kent,  the  ploughshare  was  impeded  by  something,  which  had 
repeatedly  been  the  case  before,  and  the  men  having  a  desire  to 
ascertain  what  was  the  obstruction,  they  commenced  digging,  and 
a  little  below  the  surface  found  two  stones,  about  6i  feet 
long  and  2  broad,  lying  lengthways  upright,  but  rather  slanting, 
between  which  was  a  skeleton,  in  nearly  a  perfect  state.  The  skull, 
teeth,  and  two  of  the  vertebrae  of  the  neck  were  quite  perfect,  but  on 
being  exposed  to  the  air  they  soon  crumbled  into  dust.  The  body 
lay  directly  east  and  west,  and  at  the  bottom  was  a  stone  which  lay 
flat,  supposed  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the  pressure  of  the  earth 
above.     The  soil  is  very  chalky,  and  to  this  is  attributed  the  excellent 


134  Sepulchral  Remains. 

preservation  of  the  bones.  The  stones  appear  to  be  exactly  suniliar 
in  quaUty  to  those  of  Kits  Conti  House,  and  it  is  conjectured  were 
placed  there  about  the  same  time  that  monument  was.  The  skeleton" 
is  doubtless  that  of  some  chief  slain  in  the  battle  fought  here  between 
Vortimer,  King  of  Britain,  and  the  Saxons,  which  is  said  to  have 
happened  about  the  year  454.  In  that  battle  it  is  related  that 
Catigern,  brother  of  Vortimer,  and  Horsa,  brother  of  Hengist,  the 
Saxon  commander,  in  single  combat  slew  each  other,  and  in  memory 
of  Catigern  a  monument  of  stones  was  there  erected  by  the  Britons, 
and  which  is  now  vulgarly  called  Kits  Conti  House.  The  lovers  of 
antiquity  will  be  glad  to  learn  that  a  gentleman,  who  has  long  made 
researches  into  the  early  history  of  this  part  of  the  county,  is  now 
engaged  in  taking  drawings  of  these  curious  remains  of  former  ages, 
and  through  whom,  it  is  probable,  we  may  shortly  be  enabled  to  lay 
before  our  readers  some  further  particulars. 

Trosley,  Kent. 

[184 1, /"a;-/ /.,//.  190,  191.] 

In  the  month  of  January  last,  in  lowering  a  hill  on  the  Pilgrims' Road, 
between  Wrotham  and  Trottescliffe  (commonly  called  Trosley),  the 
labourers  dug  up,  within  2  feet  of  the  surface,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
human  bones,  the  remains  of  bodies  which  had  been  buried  in  the  chalk. 
It  was  surmised  by  some  persons  that  these  were  the  bones  of  pilgrims, 
who  had  been  murdered  by  robbers,  whilst  others  imagined  they  be- 
longed to  the  slain  in  some  ancient  battle.  But,  in  either  supposition,  the 
public  highway  would  appear  the  least  likely  place  for  their  interment, 
and  the  more  probable  explanation  of  the  circumstance  is,  that  the 
bodies  were  deposited  before  the  formation  of  the  road  in  the  anti- 
Christian  times.  It  was  remarked  that,  a  few  years  since,  a  great 
many  human  skeletons  were  found  in  the  same  road,  about  half  a 
mile  from  these;  that  in  1797,  when  the  road  from  Sevenoaks  to 
Farningham,  which  passes  through  Otford,  was  widened,  many 
skeletons  were  found  in  the  chalk  ;  and  in  1835,  when  the  London 
and  Hastings  road  was  turned  at  Morant's  Court  Hill,  nearly  twenty 
skeletons  were  found  in  a  chalk  field  in  the  parish  of  Otford,  together 
with  some  of  the  implements  which  frequently  occur  in  the  interments 
of  the  Britons. 

Kegworth,  Leicestershire. 

[1794,  Part  I. ,  pp.  173,  174.] 

On  Monday  last,  as  the  sexton  of  Kegworth,  County  Leicester, 
was  digging  a  grave  for  the  interment  of  a  private  of  the  Derby 
Militia,  in  a  part  of  the  churchyard  allotted  to  strangers,  he  dis- 
covered a  very  large  stone  coffin,  about  two  feet  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  On  removing  the  lid,  two  skeletons  were  found  within, 
one  of  them  entire,  and  it  appeared  they  had  been  placed  "  head  to 


Miscellaneous  Excavations,  135 

feet."  On  the  lid  were  the  remains  of  an  inscription,  but,  we  are 
sorry  to  say,  rendered  illegible  by  the  spade  and  mattock  of  the 
sexton.  The  coffin  was  neatly  cut,  and  the  sides  and  lid  about  5 
inches  thick.  Every  appearance  renders  it  extremely  probable  that 
these  skeletons  were  the  remains  of  some  persons  of  considerable 
note,  and  that  they  had  lain  in  that  situation  several  hundred  years. 

Burrow  Hill,  Leicestershire. 
[1806,  Part  II.,  p.  1008.] 

In  the  year  1803,  when  the  unwelcome  rumour  of  an  invasion  of 
this  island  by  the  French  was  so  prevalent  in  the  country,  orders 
were  issued  by  the  Government  for  signal-posts  to  be  erected  in 
different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  upon  the  highest  and  most  con- 
spicuous spires  and  eminences  known  in  the  several  counties,  in 
order  that,  should  the  enemy  put  their  threats  and  preparations  into 
execution  on  any  part  of  our  coast,  the  most  speedy  and  prompt 
alarm  might  be  given  to  the  next  station,  and  so  to  proceed  from  one 
signal-station  to  another,  until  the  alarm  would  reach  the  most  central 
and  midland  districts.  For  this  purpose  about  fourteen  signal-posts 
were  ordered  to  be  placed  in  Leicestershire  ;  nine,  I  think,  upon  the 
highest  and  most  conspicuous  steeples,  and  five,  I  believe,  upon  as 
many  eminences  in  the  county,  of  which  Burrow  Hill  was  fixed  on  as 
one.  Accordingly  Mr.  Richardson,  an  eminent  carpenter  and  joiner 
of  Leicester,  who  was  appointed  to  fix  them  up  at  all  the  stations  in 
the  county,  was  to  place  one  upon  this  hill.  The  part  of  the  hill  he 
chose  for  its  station  was  at,  or  very  near,  the  summit  of  the  west 
angle  of  the  upper  embankment ;  a  very  little  distance  to  the  south 
of  where  the  figure  3  stands  in  the  plan  as  given  in  Mr.  Nichols's 
"  History  of  Leicestershire,"  vol.  ii.,  plate  lxxxv.,  p.  509,  on  the 
summit  marked  on  the  aforesaid  plan  <?,  nearly  close  to  the  figure  3, 
as  I  before  observed.  Here  the  workmen  began  to  dig  the  hole  in 
which  the  signal-post  was  to  be  fixed  ;  but  they  had  proceeded 
scarcely  a  foot  in  depth  in  stone  and  rubble  (for  there  was  but  little 
earth  intermixed),  when  they  discovered  the  upper  part  of  a  human 
skull ;  and  as  they  proceeded  lower  with  their  spades  and  mattocks, 
an  entire  skeleton  was  fully  developed,  apparently  in  a  sitting  or 
standing  position,  as  if  it  had  been  immured  in  this  embankment 
(which  consists  almost  wholly  of  stone)  at  its  first  formation.  The 
under-jaw,  which  I  have  seen,  is  very  perfect;  the  teeth  all  sound 
and  firm,  and  their  enamel  white  and  good.  By  the  side  of  the 
skeleton  was  found  an  iron  spear-like  weapon,  in  a  position  as  if  it 
had  been  placed  close  to  it  at  the  time  of  interment,  or  rather,  per- 
haps, immuring.  This  weapon  is  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  long, 
including  part  of  a  socket,  in  which  are  the  much-corroded  remains 
of  a  handle,  apparently  of  wood.  It  is  ridged  on  both  sides,  up  the 
middle,  and  was  formed  with  two  edges ;  the  whole  much  injured 


136  Sepulchral  Remains. 

by  rust.  This  weapon  is  in  all  respects,  except  being  rather  longer 
and  narrower,  similar  to  one  dug  up  by  the  side  of  a  skeleton  in 
Medbourn  Field  in  the  year  1794,  of  which  I  gave  an  account  in 
the  Genlkma?i's  Magazine,  vol.  Ixv.,  p.  274  [see  Note  14];  also  in 
Mr.  Nichols's  "History  of  Leicestershire,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  177,  where  a 
drawing  of  that  is  given  in  plate  cxi.,  p.  657. 

Yours,  etc.        J.  Tailby. 

KiBWORTH    HaRCOURT,    LEICESTERSHIRE. 
[1S37,  Part  I.,  p.  6^1.-] 

A  tumulus  has  lately  been  opened  at  Kibworth  Harcourt,  Leicester- 
shire, and  excavated  sufficiently  to  give  some  idea  of  its  singular 
construction.  After  removing  some  rich  soil  from  the  surface,  a  stiff 
clay,  similar  to  what  is  found  in  the  neighbourhood,  was  cut  through 
to  the  depth  of  about  4  feet,  when  a  quantity  of  burnt  matter  was 
discovered,  in  a  thin  layer,  but  extending  over  a  large  surface.  Near 
the  centre  was  found  a  pavement,  consisting  of  large  pebbles,  which 
had  evidently  been  exposed  to  a  great  heat.  This,  in  all  probability, 
formed  the  basis  of  a  funeral  pile,  as  fragments  of  burnt  bones  and 
pottery  were  found  embedded  in  the  ashes.  After  clearing  this 
away,  another  stratum  of  clay  was  cut  through,  which  was  again  suc- 
ceeded by  a  layer  of  burnt  matter.  Here  were  found  two  pavements, 
about  7  yards  apart ;  one  near  the  centre,  and  the  other  on  the 
west  side  :  these  were  lying  on  the  natural  soil,  and,  like  the  other, 
bore  marks  of  fire.  It  is  evident  that  this  tumulus  was  erected  at 
difterent  periods.  On  approaching  the  outside,  each  layer  assumes 
the  form  of  a  peculiar  arch.  It  appears  the  site  was  first  marked  out 
by  an  embankment.  Although  the  centre  has  been  thoroughly  ex- 
plored, and  three  distinct  places  found  where  cremation  has  been 
used,  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the  principal  interment  has  been  dis- 
covered, as  the  greater  portion  of  the  tumulus  yet  remains  undis- 
turbed. 

Grimsby. 

[1828,  Fart  I.,  pp.  54S>S46.] 

An  ancient  cemetery  of  considerable  extent  (says  the  Stamford 
JMcrcur}')  has  been  recently  discovered  at  Wold  Newton,  near  Grimsby, 
by  some  men  who  were  digging  for  gravel.  It  consists  of  a  large 
tumulus,  containing  an  area  of  three  or  four  acres  of  land  ;  on  the 
summit  of  which  is  another  of  smaller  dimensions,  thrown  up  in  a 
rectangular  form,  and  covering  little  more  than  a  rood.  Within  this 
tumulus,  more  than  twenty  urns  have  been  found,  arranged  in  a  right 
line  the  whole  length  of  the  mound,  placed  on  their  bottoms  with 
their  mouth  upwards,  and  filled  with  a  quantity  of  black  and  greasy 
earth  and  cinerated  bones.  They  were  of  various  sizes  and  shapes, 
and  placed  about  three  feet  from  the  surfaces,  in  a  bed  of  gravel,  at 


Miscellaneotis  Excavations.  \'^'] 

irregular  distances ;  some  being  close  together,  others  three  or  four 
feet  apart.  They  were  all  broken  in  the  operation  of  taking  them  up, 
except  three,  which  are  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  G.  Oliver,  of 
Grimsby.  The  largest  measures  9  inches  in  perpendicular  height, 
and  32!^  inches  in  circumference  in  the  widest  part;  the  other  two 
measure  each  5  inches  in  height,  and  in  circumference  21  and  18 
inches  respectively.  They  are  all  composed  of  coarse  pottery, 
moulded  by  the  hand  and  baked  in  the  sun,  and  decorated  round  the 
sides  with  rude  carvings  in  lines  and  circles.  No  coins,  weapons  of 
war,  or  ornaments,  were  found  with  them.  These  urns  are  conjec- 
tured to  be  British,  and  to  have  contained  the  ashes  of  persons  of 
consequence. 

NoTTiNG  Hill. 
[1S41,  Pa7-t  II.,  p.  499.] 

As  some  workmen  were  employed  on  the  7th  of  August  in  digging 
the  foundations  for  the  new  buildings  situated  in  Victoria  Park,  near 
the  Hippodrome,  on  Notting  Hill,  in  the  parish  of  Kensington,  they 
discovered,  at  about  6  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  turf,  a  stone 
coffin,  which  they  at  first  mistook  for  a  covered  drain,  and  unfortu- 
nately broke  it  with  pickaxes.  It  was  composed  of  a  single  stone, 
and  contained  a  skeleton,  the  teeth  of  which  were  nearly  entire,  and 
the  cranium  and  bones  in  good  preservation,  the  interior  being  filled 
up  with  lime.  The  coffin  was  composed  of  fine  grit  or  Purbeck 
stone.  Its  internal  length  is  6  feet  2  inches,  its  external  length  6  feet 
8  inches ;  breadth  without  2  feet  3  inches,  breadth  within  i  foot 
8  inches.     It  was  placed  north  and  south,  the  head  lying  to  the  north. 

At  the  same  time,  and  near  the  same  spot,  were  found  three  other 
skeletons,  which  were  also  lying  from  north  to  south  :  the  greater 
part  of  these  latter  crumbled  to  dust  upon  being  exposed  to  the  air. 
It  is  conjectured  that  further  discoveries  will  be  made  as  the  work- 
men proceed  with  the  excavations  on  the  southern  brow  of  the  hill, 
descending  towards  the  ancient  manor-house  of  Notting-Barnes. 

Yours,  etc.         Thos.  Faulkner. 

Wood  Dalling,  Norfolk. 
[1S40,  Part  II.,  pp.(is,T,->  644-] 

The  following  interesting  communication  connected  with  the 
antiquities  of  Norfolk  was  lately  made  me  by  my  worthy  friend,  Mr. 
Goddard  Johnson,  of  Marsham,  one  of  the  most  zealous  and  useful 
investigators  of  our  County  Topography.  Should  it  appear  to  you 
deserving  of  a  place  in  the  Gejitleman' s  Magazine,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
see  it  inserted  there. 

Yours,  etc.         Dawson  Turner. 

"  Since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  at  your  house,  a  curious  dis- 
covery has  been  made  in  the  parish  of  Wood  Dalling,  near  Aylsham. 


138  Sepulchral  Remains. 

A  farmer  there,  of  the  name  of  Pahner,  had  employed  his  men  to 
cleanse  the  mud,  which  had  been  accumulating  for  many  years,  from 
an  old  pit  of  considerable  size  in  one  of  his  iields.  In  the  course  of 
this  operation  they  discovered  the  heads  of  sixty  oxen,  a  like  number 
of  the  heads  of  sheep,  and  several  of  goats.  Together  with  these 
was  found  a  quantity  of  other  bones  ;  indeed,  so  large  a  quantity, 
that  two  or  three  tumbril-loads  were  sold  by  the  men  to  a  bone-col- 
lector, and  are  before  this  time  ground  down  for  manure.  The  most 
remarkable  part  of  the  story  is  that  in  the  midst  of  this  collection  of 
animal  bones  lay  the  body  of  a  human  being,  interred  in  a  colna 
formed  of  oak  planks,  which  appeared  more  than  2  inches  thick,  but 
which  were  in  such  a  state  of  decay  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  re- 
moving them  without  their  crumbling  to  dust,  and  that  by  the  side  of 
the  coffin  was  the  upper  stone  of  a  quern  of  braccia  or  plum-pud- 
ding stone,  and  with  this  a  neatly  wrought  Roman  patera  of  Samian 
ware,  having  the  maker's  name  in  the  centre  of  the  bottom  within. 
There  were  also  several  fragments  of  urns  of  a  coarser  earth,  on 
which  no  ornament  or  pattern  of  any  kind  whatever  was  to  be  de- 
tected. The  patera  was  parted  nearly  across  the  middle ;  and  a 
small  piece  of  the  rim  is  wanting.  It  is  now  in  my  possession,  Mr. 
Palmer  having  given  it  to  me.     The  maker's  name  is  SAIILVS. 

"  It  would  naturally  be  concluded  from  such  a  discovery,  that  we 
had  met  with  the  burial-place  of  an  individual  of  distinction— whether 
Briton,  Roman,  Dane,  or  Saxon,  it  might  be  difficult  to  pronounce — 
to  do  honour  to  whom  a  large  quantity  of  cattle  had  been  slain,  and 
had  been  interred  with  him.  But  must  we  not  assign  very  different 
dates  to  the  pottery  and  the  bones?  Is  it  possible  that  the  latter 
should  so  long  have  resisted  decomposition?  and  does  not  this  cir- 
cumstance forbid  that  inference  ?  I  have  myself  been  so  far  im- 
pressed with  such  a  belief,  that  I  have  been  rather  disposed  to 
account  for  the  strange  deposit  by  assuming  that  an  epidemic  disease 
of  a  fatal  nature  must  at  some  time  have  raged  among  the  cattle,  so 
that  they  died  in  large  numbers,  and  were  thrown  into  this  hole,  in 
which  it  happened  that  one  or  more  human  beings  had  previously 
found  their  place  of  sepulture.  Here,  however,  I  am  met  by  a  start- 
ling fact  :  the  shank-bones  of  the  smaller  animals,  whether  sheep  or 
goats,  were  found  lying  side  by  side  in  bundles  of  ten  or  twelve, 
'folded  up,'  as  Mr.  Palmer  distinctly  described  them,  'like  a  land- 
chain.'  Thus  the  idea  of  an  accidental  hasty  deposit  becomes  in- 
admissible, and  my  theory  falls  in  pieces. 

"  Another  circumstance  worthy  of  notice,  which  I  do  not  recollect 
if  I  mentioned  to  you,  was  a  discovery  made  in  the  autumn  of  1S38 
at  Northwold,  not  far  from  Stoke  Ferry.  Some  labourers,  in  casting 
mould  into  a  meadow  from  a  spot  that  was  but  slightly  raised,  and 
had  no  appearance  whatever  of  a  tumulus,  met  with  several  urns  of 
coarse   fabric  and  unornamented.     With  these  were  many  swords, 


Miscellaneotis  Excavations.  139 

spear-heads,  and  shields,  apparently  entire,  but  so  excessively 
oxydized  that  they  fell  to  pieces  almost  as  soon  as  touched.  I  saw- 
some  of  the  relics  in  the  possession  of  a  gentleman  at  Wereham. 
The  umbo  of  one  of  the  shields  remained  tolerably  perfect ;  but  this 
was  the  only  portion  that  did  so.  Together  with  the  above,  the  work- 
men picked  up  several  brass  fibulae,  and  strings  of  beads,  some  of  blue 
glass  and  ornamented,  others  of  amber.  The  latter  were  very  rough, 
and  the  rudeness  of  their  execution  makes  me  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  they  must  have  been  of  the  manufacture  of  the  early  Britons, 
rather  than  of  their  refined  invaders,  the  Romans.  I  have,  through 
the  kindness  of  the  gentleman  on  whose  grounds  the  last-mentioned 
articles  were  discovered,  procured  a  tolerably  good  string  of  the  beads, 
together  with  two  or  three  of  the  fibulae,  and  a  cup  of  very  rude  earth, 
about  the  size  of  a  breakfast  cup." 

Newcastle. 

[1828,  Part  I.,  p.  462.] 

As  the  workmen  were  lately  trenching  the  ground  for  planting  at 
Villa  Real,  near  Newcastle,  they  found  a  curious  rude-stone  coffin, 
composed  of  six  flagstones,  containing  the  skeleton  of  a  tall  man,  in 
complete  preservation,  with  an  urn  standing  by  the  side  of  the  head. 
It  appears  to  be  one  of  the  most  perfect  specimens  of  the  ancient 
British  sepulchral  vases  that  has  been  yet  found.  Mr.  Blackbird  has 
presented  it  to  the  Antiquarian  Society  of  Newcastle. 

[1844,  Part  I.,  p.  637.] 

At  Crag  Hall,  Fesmond,  near  Newcastle,  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Charles  Adamson,  whilst  the  gardener  was  levelling  and  trenching  the 
ground  for  a  grass-plot  in  front  of  the  house  on  the  27th  of  March, 
he  discovered  two  graves  built  with  flat  stones  set  edgeways,  so  as  to 
form  the  sides  of  them,  having  a  flat  stone  laid  on  the  top  as  a  cover. 
In  these  were  discovered  four  ancient  British  urns  of  an  early  date, 
containing  fragments  of  bones  and  earth.  Unfortunately  only  one  of 
the  number  was  got  out  whole. 

Bristol. 

\\^Z(),  Part  I.,  p.  80.] 

A  barrow,  or  tumulus,  has  lately  been  opened  near  Bristol,  the 
contents  whereof  promise  matter  of  curious  speculation  to  the 
antiquarian  reader ;  of  which,  when  thoroughly  examined,  an  exact 
description  will  be  given  [see  Note  15]. 

Bath. 

[1789,  Part  /.,  //.  392,  393.] 

Considering  your  magazine  the  most  eligible  for  circulating  at 
present,  and  preserving  in  future,  the  singular  (as  I  believe)  subject 


140  Sepiilchral  Remains. 

of  this  letter,  I  make  no  apology  for  soliciting  it  may  be  inserted 
therein.  I  entreat  you  will  give  me  credit  when  I  assert  that,  exclu- 
sive of  the  incitements  I  have  alluded  to,  I  should  not  have  hesitated 
in  determining  where  my  mite  should  be  deposited ;  respect  and 
gratitude  indubitably  point  at  the  Gentleinaii^s  Magazine. 

Yours,  etc.         Thos.  Bere. 

On  the  8th  of  January  last,  I  published  in  the  Bath  Chronicle  a 
short  account  of  an  extraordinary  barrow,  or  tumulus,  which  had 
been  recently  discovered  in  the  neighbourhood  of  my  residence. 
This  I  did  in  hope  of  attracting  the  attention  of  some  gentleman 
who,  from  knowledge  in  ancient  history,  might  have  been  able  to 
give  the  public  information,  or  probable  conjecture  at  least,  relative 
to  this  new  species  of  sepulchral  monument.  To  invite  investigation, 
I  subjoined  my  address ;  and  happy  should  I  have  been  in  giving 
every  information  or  assistance  my  locality  afforded  me  to  such  an  one. 
But  as  no  such  investigation  has  been  made  by  any  one  of  competent 
abilities,  I  venture  to  obtrude,  rather  than  suffer  so  curious  a  dis- 
covery to  pass  back  into  the  regions  of  oblivion,  without  that  respect 
which,  I  am  persuaded,  its  singular  construction  demands. 

The  barrow  is,  from  north  to  south,  150  feet;  from  east  to  west, 
75  feet.  This  looks  more  like  a  designed  proportion  than  the  effect 
of  chance.  It  has  been  immemorially  known  by  the  name  of  "Fairy's 
Toote,"  and  considered  still,  by  our  sagacious  provincials,  as  the 
haunt  of  ghosts,  goblins,  and  fairies.  This  may  be  deemed  the 
electrical  tremblings  of  very  remote  superstition.  The  idle  tale 
travelled  down  through  many  an  age — long,  long  after  the  cadavers 
from  which  it  originated  had  ceased  to  be  had  in  remembrance. 
Desirous  of  obtaining  stone  for  the  adjacent  roads,  the  proprietor 
ordered  his  workmen  to  see  what  the  Toote  was  made  of  They 
accordingly  commenced  their  labours  at  the  southern  extremity,  and 
soon  came  to  the  stone  D,  which  then  was  at  A,  with  a  considerable 
west  inclination,  and  no  doubt  served  for  a  door  to  the  sepulchre, 
which,  prior  (and  in  some  instances  subsequent)  to  Christianity,  was 
the  common  mode  of  securing  the  entrance  of  these  repositories. 
Such  was  that  which  was  placed  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  wherein 
our  blessed  Saviour  was  interred.  The  stone  D  being  passed,  an 
admirable  unmortared  wall  appeared  on  the  left  hand,  and  no  doubt 
a  similar  one  after  the  dotted  line  on  the  right  once  existed,  as  we 
find  it  continued  in  the  same  direction  at  F.  This  wall  was  built 
of  thin,  irregular,  base  freestone,  less  in  length  and  breadth,  but  in 
general  thicker  than  common  Dutch  chimney  tile.  Its  height  was 
somewhat  more  than  4  feet;  its  thickness  about  14  inches:  13  feet 
directly  north  from  A  (where  the  stone  D  stood)  the  perforated  stone 
B  appears,  inclining  to  the  north  about  30  degrees,  and  shutting  up 
the  avenue  between  the  unmortared  walls. 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  141 

Working  round  the  east  side,  at  I,  a  cell  presented  itself,  2  feet 
3  inches  broad,  4  feet  high,  and  9  feet  from  south  to  north.  Here 
were  found  a  perfect  human  skull,  the  teeth  entire,  all  sound,  and  of 
the  most  delicate  white  :  it  lay  against  the  inside  of  the  stone  B,  the 
body  having  been  deposited  north  and  south.  Several  other  pieces 
of  skulls,  human  spinal  joints,  arm-bones,  etc.,  were  found  herein; 
and  particularly  the  thigh-bone  of  a  very  large  quadruped,  which,  by 
comparing  with  the  same  bone  of  an  ox,  I  conjecture  to  have  belonged 
to  an  animal  of  that  species.  As  the  skull  appeared  to  me  larger 
than  common,  I  was  willing  to  form  some  conjecture  of  the  height  of 
that  body  to  which  it  belonged,  and  applied  my  rule  to  it,  taking  the 
painter's  datum,  of  allowing  eight  faces  (from  the  hair  on  the  forehead 
to  the  shin)  for  the  whole,  found  it  gave  something  more  than  8  feet. 
With  this  the  length  of  the  sepulchre  agrees,  being,  as  was  before  ob- 
served, 9  feet.  In  this  cell  was  also  found  the  tooth  of  some  large  beast ; 
but  no  one  that  has  seen  it  can  guess  of  what  genus.  At  the  termina- 
tion of  the  first  sepulchre,  the  horizontal  stones  in  the  top  of  the 
avenue  had  fallen  down.  With  some  difficulty,  and  no  little  danger, 
I  obtruded  far  enough  to  see,  by  the  light  of  a  candle,  two  other 
similar  catacombs,  one  on  the  right,  the  other  on  the  left  side  of  the 
avenue,  containing  several  human  skulls  and  other  human  bones ; 
but  which,  from  the  imminent  hazard  of  being  buried  in  the  ruins  of 
the  surrounding  masses,  have  not  yet  been  entered.  This,  as  far  as 
it  goes,  is  a  true  account  of  the  discoveries  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  tumulus.  The  lateral  section  at  G  has  afforded  as  yet  nothing 
more  than  a  view  of  the  unmortared  wall,  seen  in  the  southern  ex- 
tremity at  H,  and  here  at  F,  with  the  continuation  of  the  central 
avenue  seen  at  B,  and  here  from  C  to  C.  This  avenue  is  constructed 
of  very  large  rock-fragments,  consisting  of  three  stones,  two  perpen- 
dicular and  one  horizontal,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  representation  E. 
Three  cells  are  here  discernible,  two  of  which  are  on  the  west  side, 
and  one  on  the  east ;  these,  also,  have  human  bones.  The  pro- 
prietor means  now  to  proceed  from  B  to  C  C,  propping  up  the 
avenue  with  wooden  posts,  in  the  same  manner  in  which  our  miners 
do  their  adits,  to  the  lapis-caluminaris  veins.  This  mode  will  give 
the  visitor  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  different  cells  with  safety  and 
convenience.  I  have  only  to  add  that  the  tumulus  is  formed  of 
small  whitish  stone,  of  which  the  neighbourhood  affords  plenty ;  and 
that  the  exterior  appears  to  have  been  turfed,  there  yet  remains  a 
stratum,  5  or  6  inches  deep,  of  grassed  earth  on  the  stones.  The 
view  I  took  on  the  spot,  in  one  of  the  sneaping  days  of  the  last 
rigorous  season.  I  can  therefore  say  nothing  for  it,  but  that,  if  it  be 
not  a  good  draitihig,  it  is  a  true  representation.  When  the  central 
avenue  is  cleared,  I  purpose  to  send  you  the  ichnography.  In  the 
meantime,  through  your  publication,  I  beg  to  present  my  compli- 
ments to  your  correspondent,  Owain  o  Feirion,  who,  if  I  mistake  not^ 


142  Sepulchral  Remains. 

is  my  old  college  acquaintance,  and  other  gentlemen  who  may  have 
a  turn  for  such  investigation ;  and  hope,  through  your  valuable 
vehicle,  to  have  their  sentiments  on  this  subject.  But,  Mr.  Urban, 
if  no  other  more  able  hand  shall  give  the  public  conjectures  relative 
to  the  history  of  Fairies  Toote,  you  shall  again  hear  on  this  subject 
from  your  old  correspondent.     [See  Note  16.] 

[17S9,  Part  II.,  p.  606.] 

Mr.  Bere  must  excuse  me  when  I  doubt  the  probability  of  the 
skeleton  measuring  8  feet.  The  marvellous  will  too  often  intrude 
in  the  pursuits  of  antiquaries.  The  size  of  the  skull  will  not,  by  the 
most  critical  rule  of  comparative  anatomy,  apply  to  the  whole  of  the 
human  structure.  It  only  argues  the  man  to  have  had  a  larger  skull 
than  common.  If  discovery  had  been  made  of  a  perfect  thigh-bone, 
his  deduction  might  have  been  granted.  Some  few  years  back,  on 
the  opening  of  a  barrow,  I  was  hurried  from  my  repast,  in  the  com- 
pany of  some  friends,  by  three  Irish  soldiers,  who  came  running  out 
of  breath  to  me  with  assurance  that  they  had  discovered  a  perfect 
skeleton,  the  enormous  size  of  which  they  pronounced,  before  I  reached 
the  spot,  to  have  been  the  carcase  of  a  prodigious  giant.  Eager  to 
transport  myself  to  the  spot,  I  arrived  panting  for  breath,  when  to  my 
great  mortification,  and  check  to  a  curious  avidity,  I  found  the  bones 
not  exceeding  the  ordinary  human  stature.  Vexed  from  my  own  dis- 
appointment, and  the  exaggerated  account  of  the  Hibernians,  I  seized 
a  thigh-bone  from  the  grave,  and,  after  having  made  one  fellow  stand 
erect,  to  measure  it  by  his  own,  I  belaboured  the  fellows  with  it  for 
their  natural  promptness  to  magnify  these  casual  discoveries  into  the 
marvellous.  It  cured  my  spleen,  and  I  returned  in  better  humour, 
though  somewhat  disappointed,  to  my  friends. 

The  thigh-bone  of  the  ox  found  in  the  Fairy's  Toote  barrow  fell 
from  the  factitious  soil,  and  could  not  by  any  means  apply  to  the 
sepulchral  rites.  Sacrifices  to  the  manes  of  the  dead  were  performed 
when  the  interment  was  closed,  and  would  not  therefore  be  found  with 
the  remains. 

The  nondescript  tooth  which  Mr.  Bere  also  discovered  would  afford 
the  greatest  satisfaction  to  the  writer  if  he  would  convey  a  drawing  of 
it  to  the  printer  of  this  magazine,  or  the  tooth  itself,  which  shall  be 
carefully  examined,  and  as  carefully  returned ;  not  doubting  but  the 
animal,  or  species  of  animal,  would  be  ascertained. 

On  further  prosecution  of  researches  into  this  curious  barrow,  the 
greatest  attention  should  be  paid  in  breaking  into  the  fresh  catacombs 
not  to  disturb  the  order  of  the  interment,  bones,  etc. ;  and  the  most 
minute  inspection  should  be  made  for  coins,  fragments  of  metal, 
pottery,  or  any  other  sepulchral  exuviae. 

If  a  further  research  be  made  into  the  Fairy's  Toote,  I  have  many 
reasons  to  think  the  central  catacomb  may  be  productive  of  some 


Miscellaneotis  Excavations.  143 

curious  sepulchral  relics,  and  which  may,  in  all  probability,  serve  to 
illustrate  its  history. 

tumboracus. 
Weston-super-Mare. 

[1852,  Part  I.,  p.  295.] 

At  Weston  Camp,  near  Weston-super-Mare,  an  extensive  earthwork 
on  the  coast  of  Somerset,  some  recent  excavations  have  disclosed  a 
large  amount  of  sepulchral  remains.  A  portion  of  the  area  of  the 
camp  is  covered  with  pits  from  6  to  10  feet  deep,  some  circular, 
and  one  surrounded  by  rude  masonry ;  about  fifty  have  been  opened, 
and  about  ninety  remain  unexamined.  They  contain  occasionally 
skeletons,  fragments  of  pottery,  and  charred  wheat ;  in  one  was  a 
spear-head.  Dr.  Pring  and  Dr.  Thompson  infer  that  "  the  skulls 
found  present  two  distinct  types,  the  one  coinciding  with  that  of  the 
degenerate  British  of  the  period  of  the  Roman  occupation  ;  the  other 
offering  more  resemblance  to  the  Teutonic  type.  They  likewise 
furnish  an  illustration  of  the  value  of  the  classification  of  Professor 
Retzius,  presenting  as  they  do  examples  of  each  class  and  order  of 
his  general  arrangement  of  crania ;  those,  however,  of  the  first  class 
and  second  order,  or  those  with  the  lengthened  oval  or  dolichoce- 
phalic form  of  the  head,  and  prognathic  jaws,  being  by  far  the  most 
characteristically  developed." 

Romford. 

[1852, /-rt;-^/.,/.  295.] 

At  Romford,  during  the  formation  of  a  sewer  for  a  new  street  on 
"  Stewards,"  now  the  property  of  the  Freehold  Land  Society,  the 
workmen  have  discovered  bones,  doubtless  human,  accompanied  by 
spear  or  lance  heads,  and  remains  of  arrows  and  tomahawks.  They 
appear  to  be  made  of  copper,  with  an  enamel  or  glass  coating,  which, 
in  some  instances,  retains  its  original  polish, 

Throwley  Hall,  Staffordshire. 

[1865,  Fart  I.,  pp.  164-166.] 

In  Capt.  Parry's  second  Polar  voyage  we  are  informed  that  an 
Esquimaux  having  lost  his  wife,  the  sailors  piled  over  her  grave  a 
great  heap  of  stones.  The  man  expressed  a  dread  lest  the  pressure 
of  the  huge  pile  would  be  painfully  felt  by  his  deceased  spouse ;  and 
soon  after,  when  an  infant  died,  he  declared  her  wholly  incapable  of 
bearing  such  a  burden,  and  would  allow  nothing  but  snow  to  be  laid 
over  her.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  an  early  tribe,  if  not  the  oldest 
yet  one  of  very  great  antiquity,  that  occupied  the  midland  counties, 
at  least  those  of  Derbyshire  and  Staffordshire,  entertained  similar 
feelings  towards  the  dead,  and  would  admit  nothing  in  the  construc- 
tion of  their  grave-mounds  but  earth  to  lie  lightly  upon  them. 


144  Sepulchral  Remains. 

Barrows  of  this  formation  have  been  opened  by  Mr.  Thomas  Bate- 
man  and  myself;  they  are  not  wanting  even  where  stone  is  plentiful. 
It  would  1  e  a  useless  as  well  as  a  tedious  task  to  go  through  a  sepa- 
rate description  of  these  mounds,  as  it  would  in  the  majority  of  cases 
be  only  a  repetition  of  earth,  charcoal,   burnt   bones,  crushed  urns, 
and  rude  instruments  of  flint,  which   in  most  examples  had  had  no 
other  manual  labour  bestowed  upon  them  than  the  blow  that  detached 
the  flake  from  the  block.     Certainly  the  description  would  be  a  little 
varied  by  the  occasional  discovery  of  a  bone  pin,   or  the  calcined 
human  remains  without  either  urn  or  flint.     The  highest  situations 
were  then  much  the  same  as  the  churchyard  is  now,  the  sacred  de- 
pository of  the  dead  ;  consequently,  when  two  barrows  are  situate 
near  to  each  other,  but  on  different  levels,  we  should  give  the  priority 
to  the  one  occupying  the  highest  situation  ;  and  as  a  corroborative 
evidence  of  the  extreme  antiquity  of  such   barrows,  or  at  least  the 
generality  of  them,  when   I  have  found  two    so  situated,   the   one 
formed  of  earth  alone  and  the  other  composed  partly  of  earth   and 
partly  of  stone,  the  one  formed  of  earth  occupied  the  highest  situa- 
tion.    The  floor  of  these  barrows  is  sometimes  very  compact,   the 
turf   and    light  superficial  soil    having  been     removed    before   the 
ceremony  of  burning  the  body  and  depositing  the  ashes  in  a  collected 
form  was  accomplished.     Occasional  shallow  depressions  on  the  floor 
contain  a  cake  of  oxide  of  iron,  effected  by  the  permeation  of  water 
through  ferruginous  soil,  which  the  unconsolidated  mound  allowed 
free  passage  to,  but  which  was  intercepted  by  the  firm  floor.     Barrow- 
diggers  sometimes  have  mistaken  such  small  pans  for  decayed  armour 
or  instruments  of  iron,  but  a  little  inspection  has  soon  made  their  true 
nature  apparent.     Another  circumstance  is  too  prominent  to  be  passed 
over,  that  is,  very  few  of  the  earth  mounds  contain  more  interments 
than  one,  and  those  that  do  are  referable  to  a  later  period — I  speak 
of  those  that  I  am  acquainted  with — and  that  interment  is  calcined 
bones,  and  in  some  instances  so  far  returned  dust  to  dust  as  to  be 
scarcely  discerned  by  the  most  practical  eye  ;  not   only  indicating 
their  extreme  antiquity,   but  that  the    aboriginal    Britons  were  not 
accustomed  to   those    barbarous  rites,  so   universally  prevalent,   of 
sacrificing  human  beings  on  the  funeral  pyre  along  with   the  dead 
corpse.     Sacrificial  rites  consequently  were  either  introduced  by  an 
influx  of  still  more  barbarous  tribes  that  intermixed  with  the  abori- 
gines, or  were  introduced  in  later  times  by  intercourse  with  the  Con- 
tinent.    Such  interments  afford  no  materials  for  the  osteologist,  the 
bones   being    too   fragmentary   for  comparison.     The   articles   that 
accompany  them  may  be  similar  to   some  others    of  a  much   more 
recent  date,  but  the  archaeologist  will  take  the  whole  combination  of 
circumstances  whereon  to  found  his  inductions. 

The  barrow  now  under  more  particular  notice  differs  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  contents  from  all  other  mounds  composed  entirely  of  earth 


Miscellaneo2Ls  Excavations.  145 

that  I  am  acquainted  with.     It  is  situate  near  Throwley  Hall,  in  the 
moorlands  of  Staffordshire.    It  is  17  yards  across,  and  3  feet  deep.    It 
was  opened  February  10,  1849,  when  upon  approaching  towards  the 
centre  one  of  the  assistants  suddenly  sank  to  his  knees  in  black  im- 
palpable powder,  which  was  found   to    cover   a  double  interment, 
deposited  in  a  circular  hole,  which  had  been  made  in  the  loose  lime- 
stone rock,  which  here  was  intersected  by  numerous  veins  of  clay. 
The  hole  was  about  2  feet  wide  and  i  foot  deep.     It  appeared  that 
an   adult  had  been  buried  in  a  wooden  vessel,  as  the  same  black 
powder,  intermixed  with   pieces    of   apparently  charred  wood,  inter- 
vened betwixt  the  bones  and  the  sides  of  the  hole.     Upon  the  bones 
lay  a  small  bronze  pin,  and  a  perfect  and  beautiful  vase  "  incense- 
cup,"  2 1  inches  high  and  3^  inches  in  diameter,  ornamented  with 
chevron  and  lozenges,  and  perforated  in  two  places  at  one  side.    This 
was  full  of  very  small  bones,  also  calcined,  amongst  which  were  dis- 
covered some  small  rudimentary  teeth.     The  bones  of  the  adult  were 
not  reduced  by  calcination  to  such  small  fragments  as  are  found  in 
many  cases.     Amongst  them  were  found  two  small  pointed  pieces  of 
flint  and  a  pebble,  and  beneath  the  deposit  the  scapula  of  a  large 
animal,  which  had  been  cut  by  flint  saws  or  other  equally  primitive 
instruments.     At  the  west  side  of  this  double  interment,  and  not  far 
removed,  were  four  other  deposits  of  burnt  human  bones,  placed  on 
the  floor  of  the  barrow,  at  short  distances  from  each  other,  in  conical 
heaps,  without  either  cist,  urn,  or  any  protection  whatever.     These 
had   been  so  thoroughly  reduced  by  fire  that  they  bore  more  the 
appearance  of  lime  than  of  human  remains.     As  all  the  deposits  in 
the  barrow  were  found  undisturbed,  it  is  evident  that  all  were  buried 
at  one  and  the  same  time.     No  secondary  interment  could  have  been 
effected  without  displacing  the  previous  ones.     It  may  be  presumed 
on  very  probable  grounds,  that  all  except  the  principal  one  in  the 
cist  had  been  immolated ;  and  what  farther  serves  to  confirm  this 
conclusion  is,  that  whereas  the  central  deposit  had  a  few  accompani- 
ments, although  of  a  rude  and  meagre  character,  which  only  bespeak 
the  poverty  of  the  individual,  and  the  bones  were  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation,  owing  to  their  having  been  carefully  burned  and  also 
carefully  buried,    the   others   had    been  almost  consumed    by  fire ; 
neither  was  there  so  much  as  a  chip  of  flint  found  with  any  of  them. 
The  central  deposit  appears  to  be  the  remains  of  a  person  of  dis- 
tinction, and  a  female,  as  will  be  stated  hereafter.     From  the  classical 
writers  we  learn  the  almost  universal  custom  of  the  ancients  sacri- 
ficing the  wife  on  the  death  of  her  husband,  or  slaves  or  domestics 
on  the  death  of  their  lord,  of  captives  on  the  pyre  of  the  warrior. 
In  Britain  cinerary  urns   are  occasionally  found,  with    small  vases 
placed  upon  or  within  them.     They  have  mostly  two  small  holes  in 
one  side,  pretty  near  to  each  other,  but  for  what  purpose  the  perfora- 
tions were  intended  is  not  very  evident.     They  have  obtained  the 
VOL.  V,  10 


146  Sepulchral  Remains. 

name  of  incense-cups,  but  the  perforations  are  not  adapted  either  for 
suspension  or  vents  for  perfumes.  They  are  usually  found  to  con- 
tain small  burnt  bones,  which  can  be  no  other  than  those  of  infants. 
A  double  cist  was  found  at  Arborlow,  not  far  from  this  under  notice. 
One  division  of  the  cist  was  large,  the  other  small.  The  calcined 
remains  of  an  adult  individual  occupied  the  large  compartment,  a  few 
small  bones  the  other.  These  double  interments,  i.e.,  of  an  adult 
and  child,  I  presume  are  respectively  the  remains  of  a  mother  and 
an  infant,  or  very  young  child.  If  the  wife  was  sacrificed  and  buried 
with  her  deceased  lord  that  she  might  accompany  him  to  the  in- 
visible world,  and  the  slave  or  domestic  to  attend  his  master,  and  the 
dog  with  the  hunter  to  bear  him  company  in  the  upper  sky,  we  may 
reasonably  infer  from  thence  that  infants  were  sometimes  sacrificed 
on  the  death  of  the  mother,  to  partake  of  her  maternal  care.  Had 
we  no  faith  in  Caesar's  description  of  the  Britons  and  their  customs, 
the  tumuli  would  inform  us  how  greatly  they  were  accustomed  to  the 
shedding  of  blood.  Other  considerations  might  also  have  their 
influence  over  the  human  brute,  as  the  inconveniency  that  would  be 
experienced  by  a  wandering  people  in  a  climate  like  ours,  by  having 
a  motherless  infant  to  attend  to,  and  no  female  naturally  attached  to 
it  to  undertake  the  charge. 

I  am,  etc.         W.  C. 

DUNWICH. 

[17SS,  Fart  II.,  p.  792.] 

A  pot  or  urn  of  about  a  quart  measure  was  taken  out  of  the  cliff 
at  Dunwich,  in  Suffolk,  about  5  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
in  1786.  Pieces  of  many  others,  of  a  similar  and  different  make, 
were  found  at  the  same  time,  filled  with  ashes,  bones,  etc.  They 
are  of  a  hard,  blackish  earth. 

A  pot  of  whitish  stone  was  dug  out  of  the  ground  by  some 
labourers,  as  they  were  cutting  a  ditch  for  a  fence  on  the  walks  near 
Uunwich,  in  1787. 

Bury  St.  Edmund's. 

[1S43, /'^'■^/•.A  522.] 

A  number  of  skeletons  have  been  lately  found  in  a  field  in  the 
Tollgate  Lane,  Bury  St.  Edmund's,  belonging  to  Mr.  Thomas  Fenton, 
of  this  town.  They  were  turned  up  by  the  spade  at  about  i  foot 
below  the  surface  ;  were  at  least  twenty  in  number ;  and  appeared  to 
have  been  deposited  with  great  care,  as  they  were  lying  at  full 
length  and  in  a  row.  With  them  was  a  small  urn  of  coarse  ware  and 
rude  workmanship,  but  quite  empty. 

Shackleford,  Surrey. 

[1S43,  Part  I.,  p.  192.] 

Several  British  sepulchral  urns  have  lately  been  dug  up  on  the 
lands  of  Mr.  Roker,  at  Shackleford,  near  Peper  Harow,  in  the  County 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  147 

of  Surrey.  They  are  of  inferior  workmanship,  and  contained,  as 
usual,  a  deposit  of  burnt  bones,  but  nothing  else  remarkable  was 
discovered. 

HOLLINGBURY    CaSTLE,    SuSSEX. 
[1825,  Part  I.,  p.  260.] 

A  labourer  lately  employed  in  digging  flints  near  Hollingbury  Castle 
(the  ancient  earthwork  or  camp  on  the  summit  of  the  hill  between 
Brighton  and  Stanmer),  discovered  an  interesting  group  of  antiquities, 
placed  very  superficially  in  a  slight  excavation  on  the  chalk  rock. 
It  consisted  of  a  brass  instrument  called  a  celt,  a  nearly  circular  orna- 
ment spirally  fluted,  and  having  two  rings  placed  loosely  on  the 
extremities ;  and  four  armillas,  or  bracelets  for  the  wrists,  of  a  very 
peculiar  shape.  All  these  instruments  are  composed  of  a  metallic 
substance,  which,  from  the  appearance  of  those  parts  where  the  green 
patina,  with  which  they  are  encrusted,  has  been  removed,  must  have 
originally  possessed  a  lustre  but  little  inferior  to  burnished  gold. 
They  are  clearly  of  either  Roman  or  Anglo-Roman  origin,  and  pro- 
bably were  buried  on  or  near  the  site  of  interment  of  the  individual 
to  whom  they  belonged. 

Lewes. 

[1765,/.  525.] 

In  your  September  magazine  for  1763  [see  Note  17],  you  were 
pleased  to  insert  a  letter  sent  you,  giving  some  account  of  discoveries 
of  antiquities  on  the  South  Downs.  I  now  trouble  you  with  another 
on  the  same  subject : 

The  latter  end  of  this  summer  (1765)  a  person  digging  flints  at  the 
same  place  where  the  other  discoveries  were  made,  and  opening  a 
barrow  or  tumuli  (or,  as  they  are  called  by  the  inhabitants,  burghs) 
found  three  urns  of  different  sizes,  carefully  placed  with  their  mouths 
downwards,  full  of  burnt  bones  and  ashes,  but  the  urns  were  too  far 
decayed  to  be  preserved  whole  :  I  am  not  inclined  to  think,  as  some 
do,  that  these  tumuli  were  raised  over  persons  slain  in  battle,  but  that 
they  were  the  common  burying-places  of  the  original  inhabitants,  as, 
by  the  different  sizes  of  the  urns,  seems  to  favour  my  opinion  that  it 
might  be  for  a  whole  family. 

Lately  a  person  digging  flints  near  an  old  camp,  called  Wolsonbury 
Hall,  about  ten  miles  west  of  Lewes,  found  several  human  skeletons 
-with  each  a  warlike  weapon  lying  by  its  side,  resembling  a  common 
hanger.  These  were  probably  slain  in  battle,  and  were  buried  without 
any  monument  or  tumuli  raised  over  them. 

I  am,  etc.         S.  A''ine. 

[1834,  rart  IL,  p.  418.] 

As  some  workmen  were  employed  in  excavating  a  field  in  St.  Ann's, 
Lewes,  for  the  formation  of  a  tank  for  the  Water  Works  Company, 
they  discovered  a  variety  of  ancient  British  vases  and  human  skele- 

10 — 2 


148  SepttlcJiral  Remains. 

tons,  at  the  head  and  feet  of  which  were  placed  what  antiquaries  term 
drinking-cups,  of  the  barrel  form,  supposed  to  have  contained  food 
for  the  dead.  There  were  also  several  sepulchral  urns,  containing 
the  calcined  ashes  of  human  bones.  One  of  these  urns,  having  an 
ornamented  handle,  was  evidently  moulded  by  hand,  and  decorated 
with  some  pointed  instrument.  Two  of  these  relics  were  discovered 
at  an  unusual  depth  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  (at  least  14  feet), 
embedded  in  the  solid  chalk  rock,  and  placed  at  right  angles  :  sur- 
rounding these  were  the  bones  of  various  animals,  such  as  sheep,  hogs, 
calves,  cats,  birds,  boars'  tusks,  etc.  The  whole  of  the  vases  were  of 
rude  workmanship,  and  composed  of  the  usual  coarse  black  earth. 

Arundel. 
[iS35,/^ar/ //.,/.  648.] 

A  short  time  since  a  tumulus  was  opened  at  Burpham  (formerly 
Burgham),  three  miles  from  Arundel.  It  is  known  by  the  appella- 
tion of  Pipering  Barrow ;  which  is  also  the  name  of  the  manor. 
Within  it  a  cist  was  discovered,  2  feet  6  inches  below  the  original 
surface  of  the  ground,  which  contained  a  skeleton,  in  good  preserva- 
tion, 6  feet  I  inch  in  length.  Below  the  hand  on  the  left  side  were 
the  remains  of  an  iron  sword,  and  above  the  head,  on  the  right,  a 
piece  of  the  same  metal,  conjectured  to  have  been  the  point  of  a 
spear..  This  barrow  is  not  far  distant  from  the  ancient  camp  of 
Burgham,  a  work  attributed  by  antiquaries  to  the  Belgic  Britons. 
Several  other  tumuli  in  the  neighbourhood  are  about  to  be  opened 
during  the  summer. 

Crosby  Carrot,  Westmoreland. 

[1793,  Part  I.,pp.\\6,  117.] 

However  rude  the  monuments  of  our  ancestors  may  appear  to  the 
eyes  of  a  more  civilized  race,  I  doubt  not  but  the  humble  tumulus  will 
convey  to  posterity  as  deep  an  impression  of  the  brave  actions 
performed  by  its  now  mouldering  contents  as  the  magnificent  and 
gorgeous  marbles  that  decorate  our  noblest  edifices  ;  and  that  long 
after  those  are  defaced  by  the  unerring  hand  of  Time,  the  green- 
turfed  mound  and  grey  mossy  stone,  without  the  aid  of  sculpture,  will 
say,  "Here  sleeps,  on  his  humble  bed,  a  warrior."  At  what  period 
one  of  the  following  description  (lately  discovered  and  opened  by  the 
Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Crosby  Carrot,  in  the  county  of  Westmoreland) 
has  been  raised,  I  know  not ;  some  of  your  correspondents,  more 
critically  acquainted  with  such  antiquities,  may  probably  be  able, 
from  the  following  account,  to  say  what  era  produced  it.  Six  bodies 
were  cased  in  stone  coffins  made  of  the  slates  common  in  that  country. 
The  bottom  of  each  consisted  of  two  or  three  stones  well  joined  ;  every 
5ide  had  from  two  to  four,  which  were  rather  obliquely  placed,  over 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  149 

which  were  laid  stones,  similar  to  the  sides,  all  the  length ;  there  had 
not  been  any  cement  used,  but  each  edge  lay  about  an  inch  over  the 
other.  Over  these  six  earth  and  stones  had  been  thrown  about 
6  inches  higher  than  the  coffins,  and  then  four  others  exactly  like  the 
former  (all  due  north  and  south)  upon  them,  which  were  all  covered 
about  2  feet ;  there  appeared  not  to  have  been  any  distinction  to  any 
particular  body,  as  in  that  opened  at  Halford  Bridge.  Around  the 
whole  (which  was  about  10  yards  in  circumference)  a  circle  of  flat 
stones  was  placed  edgeway,  with  their  tops  but  just  appearing  above 
the  ground.  The  bones  of  those  that  were  opened  were  not  much 
decayed  ;  one  skull  had  apparently  been  cloven  half  down  by  a  sharp 
instrument,  and  other  bones  mutilated ;  the  teeth  in  most  of  them 
were  perfect.  No  armour  or  clothing  appeared  to  have  been  in- 
humed with  the  bodies.  The  whole  lay  open  a  few  days,  and  then 
was  restored  as  nearly  to  its  former  state  as  could  be.  It  is  situated 
in  a  common  pasture,  called  Bullflat,  under  a  hill,  around  which  the 
remains  of  a  fosse  are  still  in  many  places  to  be  traced.  At  the  top 
of  the  hill  are  two  more  mounds,  like  the  other  (though  not  so  large) 
which  have  never  been  opened,  and  which,  I  doubt  not,  are  similar 
tumuli.  Yours,  etc.  T.  C. 

Nettleton,  Wilts. 

[1S22,  Part  I.,  p.  160.] 

Having,"  during  our  antiquarian  researches  on  the  line  of  the  Fosse 
Road  between  Aqucz  Sulis  (Bath)  and  Coriniuiii  (Cirencester)  re- 
marked a  long  barrow,  with  a  cromlech,  or  kistvaen,  projecting  over 
its  eastern  summit ;  and  having,  for  many  years  past,  cast  a  longing 
eye  upon  this  singular  vestige  of  early  British  antiquity,  I  at  length, 
in  the  year  1821,  put  my  long-intended  plans  into  execution  ;  and  by 
the  kind  permission  of  the  lord  of  the  manor,  Dr.  Carrick,  M.D.,  of 
Clifton,  began  my  researches  on  the  9th  of  October,  182 1  :  and  I 
now  send  you  an  accurate  statement  of  our  progress  sub  terra. 

This  long  barrow  is  situated  in  the  parish  of  Nettleton,  which 
adjoins  that  of  Littleton  Dru  or  Drew,  a  name  evidently  of  Druidical 
antiquity.  It  is  placed  at  a  very  short  distance  from  the  great  Roman 
road  called  the  Fosse,  which  traverses  the  whole  of  our  island  from 
Lincolnshire  in  the  north  to  the  western  coast  of  Devonshire. 

Our  operations  commenced  on  the  8th  of  October;  and  a  stout 
body  of  spadesmen,  with  our  able  pioneer,  John  Parker,  at  their 
head,*  began  their  work,  which  was  rather  arduous,  the  whole  of  the 
barrow  being  almost  entirely  constructed  with  loose  stones.  Being 
determined  to  spare  neither  trouble  nor  expense  in  developing  the 
history  of  this  singular  tumulus,  and  hoping  to  find  our  Wiltshire 

•■  John  Parker  was  the  able  investigator  of  the  numerous  barrows  we  opened 
in  various  parts  of  Wiltshire. 


150  Sepulchral  Remains. 

maiden  intadn  et  inviolata,  we  determined  to  make  a  complete  sec- 
tion along  the  centre  of  the  mound. 

A  deep  trench  was  cut  through  the  dorsum  of  the  barrow,  beginning 
at  the  eastern  end  where  the  elevated  stones  were  placed,  to  the 
extent  of  150  feet. 

We  began  our  excavation  as  nearly  as  we  could  with  safety  to  the 
cromlech  or  kistvaen  ;*  for  though  a  zealous  antiquary,  and  anxious 
to  dive  as  deeply  as  possible  into  the  womb  of  time,  I  could  not  con- 
scientiously endanger  the  falling  of  the  stones.  We  dug,  however,  as 
near  as  possible  to  them,  and  down  to  the  surface  of  the  natural  soil ; 
or,  according  to  our  old  phrase,  the  floor  of  the  barrow.  In  so  doing, 
we  found  many  pieces  of  charcoal,  mixed  with  the  earth,  indicative  of 
fires  having  been  kindled  on  the  spot  for  the  purposes  of  cremation, 
or  for  the  celebration  of  some  religious  rites  connected  with  the  burial. 
The  floor  of  the  barrow  seems  to  have  been  covered  with  a  layer  of 
large  flat  stones,  and  the  sides  were  protected  with  similar  layers.  A 
wall  of  the  same  kind  of  flat  stone  was  formed  near  the  kistvaen  at 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  tumulus,  which  seemed  to  indicate  that 
this  spot  had  been  selected  for  the  principal  deposit  ;t  and  indeed 
there  was  the  appearance  of  a  very  rude  arch,  constructed  with  loose 
flat  stones,  immediately  beneath  this  kistvaen. 

The  two  first  days  were  thus  employed,  but  without  any  important 
discovery.  On  the  third,  our  pioneers  (whilst  continuing  the  line  of 
the  proposed  section)  perceived  indications  of  an  interment  about 
30  feet  from  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  barrow;  two  joints  of  finger- 
bones  having  been  turned  up.  But  here  their  operations  ceased, 
until  the  owner  of  the  tumulus.  Dr.  Carrick,  with  his  friends,  could 
attend.  In  the  meantime,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Skinner,  a  zealous  investi- 
gator of  British  and  Roman  antiquities,  and  Mr.  Philip  Crocker,  an 
able  surveyor  and  draftsman,  were  employed  in  taking  exact  measure- 
ments, drawings,  etc.,  of  this  barrow. 

The  average  depth  of  the  barrow  still  continued  about  6  feet ;  and 
at  the  distance  of  30  feet  from  the  site  of  the  sepulchral  deposit,  the 
labourers  came  to  a  wall  of  loose  stones  extending  across  the  barrow, 
which  they  left  untouched,  under  the  idea  of  finding  another  inter- 
ment in  the  vicinity.  They  then  began  to  excavate  the  trench  at  the 
western  extremity,  in  order  to  meet  the  other  beyond  the  wall;  but, 
in  so  doing,  they  found  nothing  worthy  of  notice,  except  some  de- 
tached pieces  of  charcoal. 

The  nth  of  October  was  the  day  of  trial ;  and  on  these  occasions 

*  The  cromlech  and  the  kistvaen  differed  in  their  construction  ;  but  the 
difference  between  them  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  defined.  Some  ihinlc 
the  former  was  altarial,  but  the  last,  I  know  from  personal  researches,  was  merely 
sepulchral,  alias,  a  stone  chest,  to  enclose  the  relics  of  the  deceased. 

\  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  primary  interment  was  placed  under  tliese  large 
stones  ;  but  we  could  not  venture  to  undermine  it,  though  some  of  our  spectators 
thought  it  could  be  safely  done  by  means  of  props. 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  151 

curiosity  is  always  awake,  which  was  evinced  by  the  numerous  specta- 
tors who  attended  on  the  ground. 

R.  C.  HOARE. 

Marlborough. 

[i8cx),  Part  11. ,  p.  1025.] 

Plate  I  represents  the  north  view  of  a  fine  cromlech  on  Marl- 
borough Downs,  Wilts,  situated  about  two  miles  from  the  town  of 
that  name,  and  the  same  distance  from  Avebury,  that  grand  temple 
of  ancient  Druidism.  As  I  have  never  seen  a  correct  view  of  it 
published,  and  being  desirous  of  collecting  every  "scattered  ray  of 
information"  upon  the  Druidical  monuments,  as  well  as  the  natural 
history  of  Wiltshire,  I  have  been  induced  to  make  a  drawing  for  the 
GentlemaiH s  Magazine,  hoping,  through  that  medium,  to  obtain  some 
information  upon  this  object.  I  therefore  solicit  the  favour  of  your 
correspondents  to  give  me  and  the  public  any  remarks,  observations, 
or  opinions  upon  these  or  any  other  subjects  connected  with  the 
county. 

J.  Brixton. 

Stonehenge. 

[1808,  Part  II., p.  648.] 

On  the  nth,  12th,  and  13th  inst.  Mr.  Cunnington  opened  various 
barrows  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Stonehenge,  under  the  direction  of 
Sir  Richard  Hoare,  Bart.,  and  with  the  aid  and  assistance  of  A.  B. 
Lambert,  Esq.,  and  found  a  number  of  curious  remains  of  Celtic 
ornaments,  such  as  beads,  buckles,  and  brooches  in  amber,  wood,  and 
gold ;  one  of  which,  for  its  elegance  and  appropriate  form,  is  at  once 
a  proof  of  the  nobility  of  the  person  for  whom  the  barrow  was  raised, 
and  the  elegance  of  the  arts  at  the  period  of  the  interment,  about 
3,000  years  from  the  present  period.  The  shape  of  this  curious 
article  is  conical,  and  the  exact  form  of  the  barrow  itself,  which  it 
was  most  probably  intended  to  figure.  Conceive  a  piece  of  wood, 
imbricated  in  layers,  one  over  the  other,  to  the  summit  of  the  cone, 
and  covered  with  thin  plates  of  pure  gold,  and  adorned  with  circles 
round  the  middle,  and  near  the  bottom  with  a  triangular  festoon 
about  the  lower  edge,  in  which  are  two  holes  for  a  thread  or  wire  to 
suspend  it. 

Stackhouse,  Yorkshire. 

[1784,  Part  II.,  pp.  961-963-] 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  great  protoparent  of  antiquaries 
did  not  visit,  in  his  extensive  excursions,  this  part  of  Craven,  in 
which  are  many  curious  antiquities  that  are  yet  buried  in  oblivion, 
especially  some  of  them,  which,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  are  so 
recluse  as  to  admit  of  no  speculation  from  our  modern   tourists.     I 


152  SepitlcJu^al  Remains. 

therefore  once  more  give  your  readers  what  may  excite  the  attention 
of  an  abler  pen. 

The  sepulchral  barrow  has  upon  all  occasions  awakened  the 
curiosity  of  the  antiquary  and  the  public  in  general,  which  may  be 
witnessed  from  the  many  spectators  present  upon  opening  those 
venerable  relics.  A  kind  of  respectful  veneration  naturally  inspires 
even  the  ignorant  rustic  during  the  operation.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Hutchins,  in  his  "  History  of  Dorsetshire,"  pleasingly  remarks,  "  Thus 
we  see,  all  nations,  however  differing  in  language,  customs,  or 
manners,  showed  a  religious  regard  for  their  dead.  The  venerable 
Druid,  the  civilized  Roman,  the  barbarous  Dane,  alike  observed  the 
rites  of  sepulture  ;  whether  deposited  under  the  lofty  pyramid,  mixed 
with  their  mother  earth,  or  reduced  to  a  handful  of  ashes,  covered 
with  a  heap  of  turf,'"  the  deceased  alike  employed  the  pious  care  of 
their  surviving  friends,  who  wept  over  and  buried  them.  And  these 
rites,  founded  in  nature,  were  supported  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
living,  not  with  a  view  of  benefiting  the  dead." 

But  the  sepulchral  tumuli  frequently,  when  searched  and  examined 
with  the  nicest  accuracy,  rather  confuse  and  embarrass  the  searchers, 
unless  the  appearance  of  coins,  instruments,  trinkets,  or  other  national 
appurtenances,  clear  the  difficulty.  This  evidently  proceeds  from  the 
exact  similitude  between  those  of  the  four  early  nations.  Indeed,  it  has 
with  some  degree  of  propriety  been  urged  that  the  two  latter,  the  Danes 
and  Saxons,  left  off  the  custom  of  burning  their  dead  immediately  after 
their  leaving  their  own  countries  ;  and,  were  it  not  asserted  by  such 
reputable  and  judicious  authors,  it  appears  rather  improbable,  on 
considering  that  domestic  or  national  customs  are  so  riveted  and 
unalterable  that,  though  they  may  appear  evidently  ridiculous,  it  is 
impossible  for  many  ages  to  root  them  out.  It  has  also  been  ob- 
served that  the  Romans  and  Britons  always  burnt  their  dead  ;  but  it 
is  certain  they  did  not  always  (though  they  might  in  general),  since  it 
is  beyond  dispute  that  entire  skeletons  and  perfect  bones  of  Roman 
generals  have  been  found.  .  .  .  This  barrow,  or  tumulus,  stands  in 
an  elevated  situation,  upon  a  mountain,  above  the  hamlet  of  Stack- 
house,t  and  may  be  discerned  at  a  great  distance.  It  is  known  in 
the  country  by  the  name  of  The  Apronful  of  Stones,  from  a  ridiculous 
tradition  that  the  devil  flying  over  the  hill  to  build  a  bridge  near 
Kirkby  Lonsdale,  in  Westmoreland,  his  apron-string  broke,  and  he 
dropped  this  vast  heap.|  Some  other  curious  legendary  tales  are  told 
also  on  this  occasion. 

*  Weever,  in  his  "  Ancient  Funeral  Monuments,"  p.  6,  says  this  was  the  custom 
of  our  Saxon  ancestors  ;  h\ii  he  does  not  remark  whether  they  burnt  their  dead  or 
not,  which  it  is  probable  they  did  not ;  neither  did  they  always  form  their  tumuli 
of  earth. 

t  Stackhouse  was  originally  an  appendage  to  Furness  Abbey,  Lancashire. 

X  A  like  story  is  given  in  a  tour  to  the  caves  in  this  part  of  Yorkshire. 


JMiscellaneous  Excavations.  153 

The  form  of  this  vast  mass  is  circular,  or  rather  orbicular ;  the 
height,  by  computation  on  the  spot,  about  9  or  10  feet.  It  is  com- 
posed of  an  incredible  quantity  of  stones,  piled  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  rest  upon  each  other's  basis,  and  strengthened  by  its  conic  form, 
it  rises  upwards  in  this  curious  shape.  Those  stones  that  form  the 
outside  of  the  work  are  so  small  that  a  soldier  could  carry  them ; 
and  since  it  has  been  argued  that  such  a  monstrous  work  as  this 
would  not  be  attempted  by  any  nation,  but  was  natural,  the  largeness 
of  the  tumulus  may  easily  be  accounted  for,  since  they  were  annually 
increased  out  of  reverence,  as  Mason  evinces  in  his  "  Caractacus," 
where  he  introduces  him  soliloquizing  on  his  son  Arviragus's  body  : 

Posterity 


Shall  to  thy  tomb  with  annual  reverence  bring 
Sepulchral  stones,  and  pile  them  to  the  clouds. 

This  barrow  had  been  opened  many  years  ago,  and  it  is  represented 
in  the  plate  in  the  state  in  which  it  has  appeared  till  lately.  Some 
old  j)eople  in  the  neighbourhood  remember  its  being  entirely  com- 
plete, and  having  a  very  flat  top.  It  was  usual,  in  finishing  these 
works,  to  lay  a  flat  stone  at  the  top.  The  people  that  opened  it  left 
their  intention  unfinished,  only  throwing  down  the  lid  of  the  stone 
coffer,  and  one  or  two  of  the  sides  \  and,  meeting  with  nothing  worth 
digging  for,  they  left  it.  Upon  examining  it  in  this  state,  before  its 
being  entirely  disfigured  in  the  last  attempt,  I  found  several  human 
bones  scattered  up  and  down  therein,  amongst  which  I  selected  the 
patelk-e  of  the  knee,  the  vertebrae  of  the  spine,  part  of  the  jaw,  and 
several  teeth.  Round  the  area  is  a  wall  or  rampart,  of  the  same 
materials  as  the  outside,  its  height  from  the  interior  part  about  2  feet, 
irregularly  ranged  with  fissured  remnants.  In  the  centre  of  the 
cavity  or  area  is  the  above  chest,  consisting  of  several  huge  stones  of 
vast  magnitude  and  density,  fixed  firmly  into  the  ground,  which  sup- 
ported a  lid  of  equal  size,  though  it  is  now  thrown  off  the  top.  In 
this  chest  are  partitions,  for  what  purpose  is  not  known,  unless  each 
space  was  allotted  to  its  particular  relique  or  body.  In  the  partitions 
and  sides  of  the  coffin  is  a  kind  of  hole  in  the  edge,  with  a  rude 
mould.  Not  many  weeks  ago,  the  curiosity  of  some  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood was  excited  to  investigate  this  stupendous  work  of  art,  and 
accordingly  labourers  were  hired,  when,  upon  searching  a  day  (yet 
not  half  the  work  done),  a  human  skeleton  was  found,  in  due  propor- 
tion, and  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  excepting  the  skull  and  one 
of  the  limbs,  which  were  moved  out  of  their  place  by  the  workmen's 
tools.  A  small  circular  piece  of  ivory,  and  the  tusk  of  an  unknown 
beast,  supposed  to  be  of  the  hog  genus,  was  also  found  ;  but  no 
ashes,  urns,  coins,  or  instruinents  were  discovered.  There  is  a 
tradition  (if  mere  tradition  may  be  relied  upon)  that  this  was  raised 
over  the  bodies  of  some  of  the  Danes  slain  in  the  general  massacre 


154  Sepulchral  Remains. 

of  that  nation.  However,  from  collecting  all  circumstances,  as  there 
is  no  appearance  of  ashes,  it  is  supposed  to  belong  to  them  or  the 
Saxons.  This  is,  however,  what  I  wish  to  be  acquainted  with.  Such 
a  conspicuous  work  must  certainly  be  erected  to  the  manes  of  some 
chiefs,  though  there  is  no  ground  to  support  its  origin  but  a  mere 
tradition.  The  tumuli  of  the  Romans  and  Britons  have  frequently  a 
black  friable  earth  round  their  foundation  ;  but  this  has  not,  neither 
is  there  any  appearance  of  the  operation  of  fire  in  its  cavity.  In  the 
"  Archaeologia,"  vol.  iii.,  art.  xxviii.,  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  tlie 
Rev,  George  Low,  mentions  the  opening  of  one  of  the  numerous 
tumuli  in  the  Links  of  Skail,  in  the  Orkney  Isles,  in  which  was  found 
a  well-preserved  skeleton,  within  a  coffin  or  chest  composed  of  four 
stones,  covered  by  a  fifth.  He  observes,  "  Little  can  be  said  as  to 
the  antiquity  of  this  tumulus,  only  that  it  was  made  before  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity."  The  insertion  of  this  extract  is  only 
meant  to  compare  it  with  this,  and  to  assert  the  original  reasons. 
And  as  the  present  century  can  honestly  boast  of  a  greater  fund  of 
antiquarian  knowledge  than  any  of  the  preceding  ones,  and  this 
noble  science,  which,  in  the  days  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  used 
to  be  considered  as  despicable  and  ridiculous,  is  now  esteemed  not 
only  honourable,  but  altogether  useful  and  necessary,  being  orna- 
mented by  the  labours  of  genius  :  thence,  in  this  enlightened  age, 
may  the  adepts  in  antiquity  have  their  doubts  resolved,  and  the  igno- 
rant meet  not  only  satisfaction,  but  pleasure  and  instruction. 

W.  F. 
Gristhorpe,  Yorkshire  [see  arite,  pp.  81-86]. 

[1S34,  Pari  n.,p.  195.] 

July  12. — A  barrow  was  opened,  in  a  pasture  near  Gristhorpe  Cliff, 
about  six  miles  south  of  Scarborough,  on  the  estate  of  William  Bes- 
wick,  Esq.,  wherein,  at  the  depth  of  8  feet,  a  sarcophagus  was  found, 
laid  horizontally  north  and  south,  excavated,  in  two  pieces,  out  of  the 
trunk  of  an  oak,  and  measuring  7|-  feet  in  length  by  3  in  diameter. 
This  primitive  sepulchre  contained  a  skeleton,  quite  black,  the  bones 
disunited  (but  very  perfect),  of  a  man  upwards  of  6  feet  in  height, 
and  seemingly  beyond  the  middle  age,  wrapt  up  in  the  remains  of 
the  hide  of  some  large  animal  (probably  an  ox).  The  brass  point  of 
a  spear,  with  a  curious  sort  of  plate  made  out  of  the  bark  of  some 
tree,  and  several  bone  pins,  were  found  among  these  bones.  The 
whole  were,  by  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Beswick,  deposited  in  the  Scar- 
borough Museum. 

[1834,  rart  II.,  pp.  632-635.] 

The  opening  of  this  tumulus,  the  contents  of  which  proved  of  more 
than  usual  curiosity,  was  briefly  noticed  in  our  number  for  August, 
p.  195.  An  intelligent  pamphlet  on  the  subject  has  since  been  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  William  Williamson,  son  of  the  curator  of  the  Scar- 
borough Museum,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extracts : 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  155 

On  Thursday,  July  loth,  a  large  barrow  or  tumulus  was  opened  at 
the  village  of  Gristhorpe,  near  Scarborough,  by  W.  Beswick,  Esq., 
the  owner  of  that  estate.  This  gentleman,  some  years  ago,  opened 
two  others  near  the  same  site ;  in  both  of  them  urns,  with  im- 
perfect remains  of  bones  and  ashes,  were  found,  which  were  pro- 
nounced to  be  of  Anglo-Saxon  or  Roman  origin.  Last  year  he  pro- 
ceeded to  examine  the  tumulus  which  forms  the  subject  of  this 
pamphlet,  but,  after  sinking  to  some  depth  fruitlessly,  he  discontinued 
it.  On  the  day  named,  however,  in  company  with  E.  Alexander, 
Esq.,  of  Halifax,  he  recommenced  his  search,  and  at  the  depth  of 
about  6  feet  from  the  surface  the  spades  struck  against  a  hard  sub- 
stance, which  proved  to  be  a  quantity  of  oak-branches  loosely  laid 
together.  These  being  removed,  an  immense  log  of  wood,  situated 
north  and  south,  7  feet  long  by  3  broad,  shortly  afterwards  presented 
itself,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  these  antiquaries.  At  one  end  of 
the  log  was  a  rude  figure  of  a  human  face,  from  which  circumstance, 
connected  with  its  large  size,  they  were  led  to  believe  that  they  had 
discovered  one  of  the  Druidical  remains  of  the  Ancient  Britons.  On 
the  following  morning,  a  number  of  gentlemen  attended  to  witness  its 
removal  from  its  argillaceous  sarcophagus  •  which,  after  considerable 
labour,  was  partly  effected,  and  a  most  remarkable  appearance  dis- 
played itself.  The  log,  as  they  thought,  seemed  to  have  been  broken 
by  the  force  employed  ;  but  on  the  fractured  portion  being  lifted  up, 
it  was  found  to  be  the  lid  of  a  coffin,  the  lower  part  still  remaining  in 
the  clay,  containing  a  quantity  of  fluid,  in  which  a  human  skull  was 
visible  ;  and  on  the  water  being  thrown  out,  it  was  soon  found  that 
the  coffin  contained  a  perfect  skeleton.  The  bones  were  carefully 
removed,  the  other  contents  of  the  coffin  examined,  the  lower  part 
taken  up,  and  the  whole  conveyed  to  the  Scarborough  Museum. 

The  coffin  has  been  made  from  the  trunk  of  an  oak,*  roughly 
hewn  at  the  extremities,  and  split  most  probably  by  wedges,  or  such 
similar  rude  instruments  as  were  then  possessed.  The  external  bark 
is  still  in  good  preservation ;  and  a  species  of  lichen  upon  it  was  at 
first  beautifully  distinct.  That  so  minute  a  vegetable  should  have 
existed  so  long  is  truly  surprising.  On  the  bark  is  carved  the  rude 
imitation  of  a  face,  before  alluded  to.  There  is  a  remarkable  circum- 
stance attending  it,  viz.,  that  this  face  was  placed  at  that  end  of  the 
coffin  where  the  feet  of  the  skeleton  were  laid.f  Unfortunately  it 
was  a  little  damaged  by  removal.  The  outer  bottom  of  the  coffin 
was  in  length  7  feet  6  inches ;  its  extreme  breadth,  3  feet  3  inches. 

*  "  Ingentem  quercum  decisis  undique  ramis, 

Constituit  tumulo." — Virgil,  ^Eneid  [xi.  4]. 

f  To  judge  from  the  plate,  this  face  is  by  no  means  evident.     An  antiquarian 

friend  suggests  that  it  was  intended  for  a  head  ;  not  of  a  man,  however,  but  of  a 

spear.     The  ancient  Roman  spear  is  described  by  Polybius  as  round,  and  a  palm 

in  breadth.     For  our  own  part,  we  must  own  that,   if  no  features  are  actually 


156  Sepulchral  Remains. 

At  .the  bottom,  near  the  centre,  is  an  oblong  hole  about  3  inches 
long  by  I  wide,  which  passes  through  the  coffin,  and  has  most  pro- 
bably been  intended  to  carry  off  any  fluids  arising  from  the  decompo- 
sition of  the  body.  There  is  little  difference  in  size  and  general 
appearance  between  the  lid  and  the  body  of  the  coftin.  There  are 
not  the  least  traces  of  any  resin,  or  indeed  anything,  having  been 
used  to  fix  the  lid ;  it  appears  to  have  been  loosely  laid  on,  and  kept 
together  only  by  the  uneven  fracture  of  the  wood  corresponding  on 
each  part  when  brought  into  their  proper  situations. 

The  first  thing  seen  on  opening  the  coffin  was  a  human  skeleton, 
quite  perfect,  and  of  an  ebony  colour.  The  bones  are  much  larger 
and  stronger  than  those  of  a  more  recent  date,  exhibiting  the  lines 
and  ridges  for  the  attachment  of  muscles  with  a  degree  of  distinctness 
rarely  if  ever  witnessed  at  the  present  day.  But  the  most  remarkable 
portion  is  the  head,  which  is  beautifully  formed,  and  of  an  extra- 
ordinary size.  The  superciliary  arches  are  unusually  prominent,  and 
the  depression  immediately  above  them  must  have  given  the  counte- 
nance a  singularly  wild  appearance.  The  thyroid  cartilages  of  the 
larynx,  the  ensiform  process  of  the  sternum,  and  the  teeth,  are  in 
beautiful  preservation.  The  former  appear  ossified ;  the  latter  are 
extremely  regular,  but  much  worn  and  flattened  by  mastication,  from 
which,  together  with  other  circumstances,  we  may  infer  that  he  had 
been  advanced  in  years.  Two  of  the  vertebrae  of  the  neck  are  anchy- 
losed,  which  some  consider  as  another  proof  of  his  great  age,  although 
this  phenomenon  may  have  resulted  from  disease.  The  body  has 
been  laid  on  its  right  side,  with  the  head  to  the  south,  and  its  face 
turned  towards  the  rising  sun.  It  has  evidently  been  wrapped  in  the 
skin  of  some  animal,  the  hair  of  which  is  soft  and  fine,  much  resem- 
bling that  of  a  sheep,  or  perhaps  still  nearer  that  of  a  goat,  but  not 
quite  so  long.  This  skin  has  been  originally  fastened  at  the  breast 
with  a  pin  of  horn  or  bone.  The  skeleton  has  been  articulated,  and 
it  now  measures  rather  more  than  6  feet  2  inches  in  length  ;  and  the 
interior  of  the  coffin  being  only  5  feet  4  inches,  will  account  for  the 
disordered  state  in  which  the  lower  extremities  were  found,  which 
must  necessarily  have  been  doubled  up  so  as  to  admit  of  being  placed 
within  it. 

The  weapons,  etc.,  consist  of  the  head  of  a  spear  or  javelin  (Fig.  3), 
formed  of  brass  or  some  other  composition  of  copper,  on  which  time 
appears  to  have  exerted  considerable  influence,  as  it  is  much  corroded, 
and  has  evidently  lost  a  considerable  quantity  of  metal  at  the  point. 
At  the  broad  end  are  two  small  rivets,  which  have  doubtless  been 
used  to  attach  the  head  to  a  shaft,  which,  from  the  shortness  of  the 
rivets  still  remaining,  must  have  been  broad  and  thin. 

perceptible,  we  think  the  cavity  was  made  merely  by  way  of  handle,  for  the  purpose 
of  drawing  the  lid  of  the  coffin  off  and  on,  previously  to  the  interment. 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  157 

Fig.  4,  the  flint  head  of,  as  it  seems,  a  small  javelin ;  for  had  it 
been  intended  for  an  arrow,  as  some  have  supposed,  its  crooked  form 
would  have  thrown  it  out  of  its  straight  course  on  being  discharged. 
The  under-surface  is  perfectly  flat,  and  they  have  probably  given  it 
that  bent  point  to  form  a  more  ragged  and  dangerous  wound. 

Fig.  5  is  a  beautifully  formed  ornament  of  either  horn  or  the  bone 
of  some  of  the  larger  cetaceous  tribe  of  fishes.  The  under-side  is 
hollowed  out  to  receive  some  other  appendage  ;  and  there  are  three 
perforations  on  each  side  for  the  purpose  of  fastening  it  by  means  of 
pins.  It  has  probably  been  the  ornamental  hand  of  a  javelin,*  of 
which  the  metal  head  has  formed  the  opposite  extremit3^  Its  sym- 
metrical form  would  not  disgrace  the  most  expert  mechanic  of  the 
present  day,  which,  combined  with  the  gloss  upon  it,  gives  it  quite  a 
modern  appearance. 

Figs.  6  and  7  are  rude  heads  of  arrows  of  flint.  It  is  rather  difficult 
to  say  how  the  larger  one  has  been  fixed,  but  the  smaller  one  has 
most  likely  been  inserted  deeply  into  a  shaft,  so  as  to  present  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  sharp  point. 

Fig.  8  is  an  instrument  of  wood.  The  point  is  not  sharp,  but 
round,  and  flattened  on  one  side  to  about  half  its  length ;  the  oppo- 
site extremity  is  quite  round,  f 

Fig.  9  is  another  pin  of  the  same  material  as  the  handle  of  horn  or 
fish  bone  above  mentioned.  It  was  laid  on  the  breast  of  the  skeleton, 
having  been  used  to  secure  the  skin  in  which  the  body  has  been 
enveloped. 

Fig.  10  is  one  of  the  fragments  of  a  ring,  the  other  portion  of 
which  is  more  broken.  It  appears  to  be  of  horn,  and  has  been  com- 
posed of  two  circles  connected  at  two  sides.  It  has  been  too  large 
for  the  finger,  and,  being  rather  of  an  oval  form,  has  most  probably 
been  used  for  fastening  a  light  scarf  over  the  shoulder,  which  has 
been  described  by  some  authors  as  an  appendage  to  the  dress  of  an 
Ancient  Briton. 

By  the  side  of  the  bones  was  placed  a  kind  of  dish,  or  shallow 
basket  of  wicker-work  :  it  is  of  a  round  form,  and  about  6  inches  in 
diameter  ;  the  bottom  has  been  formed  of  a  single  flat  piece  of  bark, 
and  the  side  composed  of  the  same,  stitched  together  by  the  sinews 
of  animals ;  which,  though  the  basket  fell  in  pieces  on  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere,  are  still  easily  to  be  observed  in  the  fragments  and 
round  the  edges  of  the  bottom.  Attached  to  the  bottom  is  a  quan- 
tity of  decomposed  matter,  which  has  not  yet  been  analyzed.     The 

*  A  javelin,  the  shaft  of  which  was  very  thin,  and  broke  when  the  object  was 
wounded,  hung  down  and  encumbered  the  enemy,  but  could  not  be  returned  by 
him  offensively.     This  was  the  nature,  we  believe,  of  one  sort  of  the  Roman  pilum. 

t  It  appears  to  be  a  knife,  very  much  like  one  of  those  used  by  the  Egyptian 
embalniers. 


,8  Sepulchral  Remains. 


most  likely  opinion  concerning  this  basket  is  that  it  has  contained 
offerings  of  food,  either  for  the  dead  or  as  gifts  to  the  gods. 

Laid  upon  the  lower  part  of  the  breast  of  the  skeleton  was  a  very 
singular  ornament,  in  the  form  of  a  double  rose  of  a  riband,  with  two 
loose  ends,  but  of  what  it  is  composed  is  uncertain  ;  it  appears  to 
have  been  an  appendage  of  some  belt  or  girdle,  but,  like  the  basket, 
it  fell  into  small  fragments  immediately  on  removal.  Its  composition 
is  exceedingly  brittle,  something  resembling  thin  horn,  but  is  more 
opaque  and  not  elastic  :  the  surface  has  been  simply  though  curiously 
ornamented  with  small  elevated  lines. 

A  quantity  of  a  vegetable  substance,  which  was  at  first  believed  to 
be  dried  rushes,  was  also  found  in  the  coffin.  Some  of  it  has  since 
been  macerated  ;  and  though  the  greater  portion  of  it  is  so  much 
•decomposed  that  nothing  but  the  fibre  remains,  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances the  experiment  has  been  so  far  successful  as  to  clearly  dis- 
tinguish a  long  lanceolate  leaf,  resembling  that  of  the  mistletoe, 
which  plant  it  has  most  probably  been  :  a  few  dried  berries  were 
amongst  the  vegetable  mass  ;  they  were  very  tender,  and  most  of 
them  soon  crumbled  to  dust :  they  are  about  the  size  of  those  of  the 
mistletoe. 

In  the  vignette  are  represented  the  three  tumuli,  viewed  from  the 
land  side,  with  Flamborough  Cliff  on  the  right  hand.*  The  centre 
one  is  the  subject  of  this  notice,  and  those  on  each  side  the  two  pre- 
viously opened. 

The  artificial  elevation  of  the  tumulus  under  notice  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  very  great,  as  a  rising  ground  has  been  chosen  to  work 
upon  :  the  diameter  of  the  artificial  part  is  about  40  feet,  but  at  its 
extreme  height  the  soil  thrown  up  has  not  been  above  3  feet  in  thick- 
ness.    The  following  is  a  table  of  the  interior  of  the  barrow,  descend- 
ing from  the  surface  :  Vegetable  soil,  i  foot ;  loose  stones,  2  feet ; 
■clay,  etc.,  i  foot ;  loose  stones,  i  foot ;  puddle,  or  blue  clay,  i  foot ; 
oak  branches,  about  i  foot ;  the  coffin,  3  feet  ;  solid  clay,  — .     The 
greater  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  upper  surface  of  the  soil  has 
•come  there  naturally  from  vegetable  decomposition  ;  and  precisely 
resembles  the  soil  in  other  portions  of  the  same  and  adjacent  fields. 
Both  the  seams  of  stones  have  been  thrown  loosely  in,  wathout  any 
-appearance  of  paving  or  regular  deposition.     In  the  lower  seam  the 
clay  beneath  has  been  soft,  as  some  of  the  stones  have  sunk  into  it, 
and  has  been  either  mixed  with  some  substance  to  give  it  a  different 
colour,  or  brought  from  some  other  place,  as  there  is  nothing  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  resembling  it.     The  stones  are  all  of  them 
boulders,  principally  sandstone,  and  most  probably  collected  from  the 
neighbouring  lands.     The  oak  branches  have  been  carelessly  thrown 

*  The  locality  reminds  us  of  the  description  of  Ossian,  "  Their  green  tombs  are 
seen  by  the  mariner  when  he  bounds  on  the  waves  of  the  north." 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  159 

over  the  coffin  ;  are  from  5  to  8  inches  in  diameter,  and,  like  the 
coffin,  are  still  covered  with  the  rough  bark.  One  only  was  placed  per- 
pendicularly at  the  foot  of  the  coffin,  apparently  to  steady  it.  The 
sides  and  bottom  of  the  pit  are  formed  of  the  natural  clay  of  the 
diluvium,  which  has  never  been  disturbed. 

Now,  from  these  facts  we  are  enabled  to  form  a  very  probable  con- 
jecture of  the  period  of  the  coffin's  interment.  The  absence  of  all 
pottery  proves  it  to  have  been  prior  to  urn  burial,  and  consequently 
before  the  Roman  invasion  ;  and  the  presence  of  the  single  brass  spear, 
to  be  after  the  introduction  of  the  islanders  to  the  more  wealthy  and 
civilized  Phoenicians.  These,  combined  with  the  rude  weapons  of  flint, 
immediately  prove  the  entombed  to  have  been  one  of  the  aborigines 
of  the  soil ;  and  that  this  opinion  may  not  appear  to  be  too  hastily 
formed,  a  few  references  to  some  works  of  standard  repute  on  the 
subject  may  be  offered.  One  great  proof  of  its  high  antiquity  is  the 
envelopment  of  the  body  in  a  strong  skin,  which  has  doubtless  been  a 
part  of  the  dress  of  the  man  when  living.  Dr.  Henry,  in  his  "  History 
of  Great  Britain,"  says,  "  The  first  garments  of  the  ancient  Britons, 
and  of  many  other  ancient  nations,  were  made  of  skins  :  as  they  lived 
chiefly  on  the  milk  and  flesh  of  their  flocks,  it  was  most  natural 
and  obvious  to  clothe  themselves  in  their  spoils.  These  garments, 
in  the  most  ancient  times  at  least,  did  not  consist  of  several  skins 
artificially  sewed  together,  but  of  one  skin  of  some  of  the  larger 
animals,  which  they  cast  about  their  shoulders  like  a  mantle."  Ceesar 
in  his  "  Commentaries,"  speaking  of  the  Britons,  says,  "  The  greater 
part  of  those  within  the  country  live  on  flesh  and  milk,  and  go  clad 
in  skins." 

Tacitus  says,  "  The  mantle  was  fastened  upon  the  breast,  or  one 
of  the  shoulders,  with  a  clasp,  or,  for  want  of  that,  with  a  thorn  or 
sharp-pointed  piece  of  wood ;"  which  coresponds  with  the  long  pin 
of  horn.  By  the  mantle's  being  pinned  at  the  breast,  it  could  not 
also  want  fastening  at  the  shoulder ;  consequently  some  other  article 
of  dress  must  have  been  worn,  which,  from  the  size  of  the  ring,  could 
only  have  been  a  kind  of  ornamental  scarf. 

The  spear  in  the  coffin,  I  should  say,  has  been  of  foreign  workman- 
ship, as  the  early  ones  of  the  Britons  were  more  heavy,  and  bore  a 
resemblance  to  their  clumsy  weapons  of  stone  ;  but  this  has  been  of 
light  and  elegant  workmanship,  which  is  another  evidence  of  the 
great  antiquity  of  the  tumulus.  The  rude  form  of  the  coffin,  and  the 
selection  of  the  oak,  the  sacred  tree  of  the  Druids,  are  also  other 
confirmations  of  his  being  one  of  the  aborigines  :  the  oak  has,  from 
the  great  thickness  of  the  marks  of  each  stroke  (which  are  all  still 
distinct),  evidently  been  cut  down,  and  the  interior  hollowed  out 
with  chisels  of  flint  about  two  inches  in  width  :  the  interior  must  have 
cost  them  much  trouble  in  forming,  both  from  the  size  of  the  tree 
and  the  hardness  of  the  wood.     The  tree  itself  has  been  cut  down 


i6o  Septdchral  Remains. 

with  some  much  larger  tool,  the  marks  of  its  strokes  are  3  inches  \n 
length. 

In  the  basket  we  have  a  specimen  of  the  earliest  manufactured  ex- 
ports of  this  now  manufacturing  island.  The  British  "  bascaudre" 
are  frequently  mentioned  by  Csesar  and  his  contemporaries,  and  were 
purchased  by  the  Romans  at  extravagant  prices.* 

Of  the  mode  of  burial,  only  one  similar  example  has  been  recorded, 
which  was  in  a  tumulus  opened  by  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  I  think  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Stonehenge,  where  the  body  was  deposited  in  the 
trunk  of  an  elm. 

"  The  Britons,"  says  Strabo,  "  exceed  the  Gauls  in  stature,  for  I 
saw  some  young  Britons  at  Rome  who  were  half  a  foot  taller  than  the 
tallest  men ;"  and  this  well  accords  with  the  size  and  characters  of 
the  skeleton.  He  has  been  of  a  remarkable  stature ;  I  should  say 
not  less  than  6  feet  and  3  or  4  inches  :t  so  that  his  great  size,  com- 
bined with  large  muscular  attachments,  must  have  given  him  that 
immense  strength  necessary  to  support  him  in  the  laborious  pursuits- 
of  war  and  the  chase. 

The  water  contained  in  the  sarcophagus  was  identical  with  the 
ordinary  spring-water  of  the  vicinity,  and  contained  much  sulphate  of 
lime,  but  no  appreciable  animal  matter  or  tannin.  Floating  upon 
this  water,  and  sparingly  sprinkled  along  the  under  edges  of  the  lid, 
and  penetrating  even  the  fissures,  etc.,  of  the  decaying  wood,  adipo- 
cere  occurred  in  a  singular  flocculent  or  rather  pulverulent  form  of 
a  white  colour,  differing  from  its  more  usual  appearance  in  conse- 
quence of  partial  decomposition,  resulting  without' doubt  from  its 
vast  age,  and  the  peculiarity  of  being  enclosed  in  such  an  antiseptic 
case. 

A  series  of  experiments,  which  met  with  the  sanction  of  Professor 
Traill,  of  Edinburgh,  of  Dr.  Henry,  of  Manchester,  and  of  Dr.  John 
Murray,  of  Edinburgh,  ascertained  this  white  matter  to  be  a  singular 
variety  of  adipocere,  which  likewise  proved  that  the  actual  body  of 
this  Ancient  Briton  had  been  deposited,  and  not  merely  the  bones. 

On  his  return  from  the  British  Association  at  Edinburgh,  Dr. 
Buckland  met  with  the  author  of  the  preceding  paper,  and  was  im- 
mediately struck  by  his  details  of  a  discovery  v.hich  he  justly  felt  to 
be  the  most  curious  and  important  that  had  ever  fallen  under  even 
his  observation.  "  A  more  authentic  case  of  the  British  mode  of 
burial  (the  Doctor  truly  remarks  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  editor  of 
the  Literary   Gazette),  it  is  impossible  to  find.     The  extraordinary, 

*  Boxes  and  canoes  of  birch-bark  are  still  made  by  tlie  Indians  of  the  Isle  of 
Cape  Breton. 

t  This  thigh-bone  {femur')  measures  19^  inches.  The  thigh-bone  shown  at 
Tavistock  as  Ordgar's,  the  gigantic  heretoch  of  Devon,  measures  21  inches. 
Our  friend  A.  J.  K.  himself  saw  one  thrown  up  casually  in  West  Wickham  Church- 
yard (which  he  suspects  was  a  British  locality,  Sept.  1S32),  which  measured  2oi 
inches. — [Cf.  Beddoe's  "  Races  of  Britain,"  p.  17.] 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  i6i 

and,  as  far  as  I  know,  unique  condition  of  the  bones,  preserved  by 
tannin  and  converted  to  the  colour  of  ink,  has  resulted  from  the 
tannin  and  gallic  acid  which  was  in  the  green  oak  trunk  that  forms 
the  cofifin,  and  in  its  very  thick  bark.  The  conversion  of  the  flesh 
into  adipocere  must  have  been  occasioned  by  the  ready  admission  of 
water  through  the  line  of  junction  of  the  lid  with  the  body  of  the 
coffin,  or  through  the  hole  cut  in  the  bottom.  The  clay  placed  in 
contact  with  the  body  probably  contained  sufficient  iron  pyrites  to 
afford  the  sulphate  of  iron,  which,  uniting  with  the  tannin  and  gallic 
acid,  have  formed,  together  with  the  water  within  the  coffin,  an  ink 
of  precisely  the  same  materials  as  that  in  common  use." 

Scarborough. 
[1835, /'ar/ //.,/.  540.] 

An  ancient  British  cairn,  or  tumulus,  has  been  just  opened  on  the 
high  road  to  Filey,  near  Scarborough.  It  was  found  to  contain  the 
skeleton  of  a  man,  an  urn  with  ashes,  and  a  drinking-cup,  also  of 
clay,  both  figured  on  the  outside,  a  flint  head  of  an  arrow,  and  a 
hammer  of  whinstone.  The  body  was  crushed  into  a  very  small 
space,  so  that  the  knees  nearly  touched  the  chin.  Mr.  Gage, 
Treasurer  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  superintended  the  opening  of 
the  tumulus.  The  bones  were  so  brittle  as  to  fall  to  pieces  immedi- 
ately they  were  exposed  to  the  air  and  touched.  Mr.  Tindall  has 
presented  the  contents  to  the  Scarborough  Museum. 

[1836,  Part  II.,  pp.  416-418.] 

An  account  of  the  discoveries  in  the  British  tumulus  near  Scar- 
borough, the  opening  of  which  was  briefly  noticed  in  our  number  for 
November,  p.  540,  has  been  written  by  William  Travis,  M.D.,  of  that 
town,  in  a  letter  to  Sir  John  V.  B.  Johnstone,  Bart.,  M.P.,  President 
of  the  Scarborough  Philosophical  Society ;  and,  having  been  read  to 
the  Council  of  the  Scarborough  Museum,  is  now  published  at  their 
request :  accompanied  by  two  plates  representing  the  various  anti- 
quities discovered,  and  the  situation  of  the  tumulus,  on  a  spot  which 
affords  a  very  commanding  view  of  the  town  and  bay. 

From  this  publication  we  make  the  following  extracts  : 

"  It  was  of  the  class  denominated  by  Sir  Richard  C.  Hoare,  from 
its  shape,  the  Bowl  Barrow.  It  was  30  yards  in  circumference,  at  its 
base ;  and  was  one  of  four,  near  to  each  other,  situate  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  Scarborough,  and  not  more  than  four  or  five  hundred 
yards  from  the  sea  cliff.  The  site,  until  about  forty  years  ago,  was  an 
open  common  or  pasture,  belonging  to  the  Corporation,  and  known 
by  the  name  of  Weapon-ness,  a  designation  seeming  to  indicate  its 
having  been,  at  some  remote  period,  the  seat  of  warfare  ;  but  no 
tradition  exists  of  the  origin  of  its  ancient  name.  It  is  at  present  in 
tillage,  and  adjoins  the  west  side  of  the  road  to  Bridlington." 

VOL.    v.  II 


1 62  Sepulchral  Remains. 


Some  large  trenches  having  been  made  across  the  barrow,  "  at  the 
depth  of  about  three  feet  from  the  apex,  the  loose  covering  stones  of 
a  cistvaen  were  exposed,  occupying  a  space  of  9  ft.  6  in.  from  north 
to  south,  and  8  ft.  from  east  to  west.  Near  the  south-west  corner  of 
this  pile  of  stones  was  an  inverted  urn  or  vase,  containing  ashes  and 
calcined  human  bones  deprived  of  gelatine  ;  and  in  this  urn  were 
lik-ewise  a  stone  hammer  and  a  flint  head  of  a  spear.  The  vase  is 
I  foot  in  height,  and  is  very  similar  to  the  sepulchral  urns  found  at 
Codford,  Winterborne  Stoke,  and  Stonehenge,  figured  in  Hoare's 
"  Ancient  Wiltshire,"  plates  viii.,  xiii.,  xvi.  The  urn  being  found  nearer 
to  the  surface  than  the  apex  of  the  cistvaen,  furnishes  a  decided 
proof  of  its  having  been  a  secoiidary  or  subsequent  deposit ;  and  it  is 
evident  that  the  contents  of  the  urn,  where  the  subject  (the  corpse) 
had  undergone  cremation,  were  distinct  from  those  of  the  cistvaen,  in 
which  the  deposit  was  found  entire. 

"  The  pile  of  loose  stones,  arranged  in  somewhat  of  a  convex  form, 
was  next  removed  ;  and,  at  the  depth  of  2  ft.  the  tomb  was  exposed 
to  view.  It  was  constructed  of  stones  placed  on  edge  upon  clay ; 
and,  taking  the  dimensions  from  within,  the  length  was  only  3  ft.  8  in., 
the  breadth  i  ft.  8  in.,  and  the  depth  15  in.  Within  this  very  con- 
fined space  had  been  thrust  the  personage  intended  to  be  thus 
honoured  and  commemorated  !  The  length  of  the  bones  of  the 
thigh  showed  them  to  have  been  those  of  a  man  above  middle  stature. 
The  head  was  laid  to  the  south,  reclining  on  the  right  side,  with  the 
knees  drawn  up  to  the  breast,  which  has  been  held  to  be  the  most 
ancient  position. 

"  On  the  left  of  the  head  was  discovered,  in  a  perfect  state,  one  of 
those  smaller  vessels  which  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  denominates  drinking- 
cups.  The  figures  in  plates  ix.  and  xii.  of  his  '  Ancient  Wiltshire ' 
approach  the  nearest  to  the  one  found  in  the  tumulus ;  but  that  en- 
graved in  Cough's  'Camden,'  vol.  iii.,  pi.  -^i,  and  found  near  Clon- 
mel,  is  exactly  its  counterpart.  The  rude  pattern  figured  on  this 
earthen  vessel,  and  that  on  the  sepulchral  urn,  are  so  far  of  the  same 
character,  that  the  deposits  may  both  be  pronounced  to  belong  to 
the  same  age  and  people.  Our  drinking-cup  is  in  height  5  in.,  in 
width  at  the  top,  including  the  brim,  6  in.,  within  the  brim  ^\  in., 
and  the  diameter  of  the  base  3  in.  It  was  more  than  half  filled  with 
a  dry  coarse  powder,  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  with  a  reddish  tinge, 
and  intermixed  with  numerous  very  small  but  distinct  fragments  of 
woody  branches.  By  the  accurate  and  scientific  investigation  of  Dr. 
Murray,  the  result  of  a  rigid  chemical  analysis  proved  that  the  entire 
contents  were  of  a  vegetable  origin,  though  in  general  so  extremely 
carbonized  as  not  to  afford  any  plausible  conjecture  of  their  former 
specific  character ;  and,  indeed,  so  slightly  altered  was  the  structure 
of  the  woody  fibre,  that  the  carbonization  may,  in  the  doctor's 
opinion,  be  referred  to  the  long-continued  action  of  water,  rather 


Miscellaiieous  Excavations.  163 

than  to  the  more  destructive  agency  of  fire  :  and,  more  especially,  as 
the  analysis  detected  the  presence  of  resin  in  a  minute  proportion. 
The  form  of  the  cup,  which  is  in  excellent  preservation,  is  not  in- 
elegant j  and  this  vessel,  together  with  the  sepulchral  urn  (unfortun- 
ately fractured,  and  in  part  destroyed),  the  ashes,  the  stone  hammer, 
and  spear-head,  are  now  placed  in  the  Scarborough  Museum  ;"  where 
are  also  preserved  the  very  singular  oak  coffin,  the  skeleton,  etc., 
from  the  barrow  opened  at  Gristhorpe  in  July,  1834,  and  fully 
described  by  Mr.  W.  C.  Williamson,  with  an  engraving,  in  our 
vol.  ii.,  p.  632.     [See  aiite^  pp.  81-86,  154  161.] 

Dr.  Travis  closes  his  memoir  with  observing  that  from  an  attentive 
consideration  of  the  remains,  and  from  other  similar  discoveries  to 
which  he  refers,  "  I  have  satisfied  myself  that  the  Scarborough 
tumulus  is  to  be  accounted  one  of  the  ancient  British  barrows,  and 
such,  I  may  add,  is  the  opinion  of  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare,  and  of  Mr. 
Gage.  The  latter  gentleman,  from  the  absence  of  all  metal,  even  con- 
jectures it  to  be  of  more  ancient  date  than  the  celebrated  barrow  at 
Gristhorpe." 

We  have  now  to  add,  that  in  consequence  of  this  concluding 
remark,  Mr.  W.  C.  Williamson,  the  author  of  the  memoir  to 
which  we  have  already  referred  (and  now  Curator  to  the  Natural 
History  Society  of  Manchester)  has  addressed  to  us  the  following 
observations : 

"  In  the  second  edition  of  my  memoir  on  the  Gristhorpe  tumulus, 
I  expressed  my  conviction  that  the  barrow  last  opened  was  of  a  more 
modern  date  than  the  Gristhorpe  one,  and  as  an  opposite  view  of  the 
subject  is  taken  by  Dr.  Travis,*  I  feel  myself  called  upon  to  give  the 
reasons  that  induced  me  to  adopt  such  a  conclusion. 

"This  opinion,  promulgated  by  Dr.  Travis,  is  founded  upon  the 
fact  of  no  metal  having  been  found  in  the  interment.  Now,  this  does 
not  appear  to  me  so  clear  an  evidence,  as  to  convince  me  of  the 
greater  antiquity  of  the  Scarborough  tumulus.  The  presence  of 
metal  gives  us  with  a  degree  of  certainty  the  most  ancient  date  at 
which  an  interment  could  be  formed  ;  but  the  absence  of  it  does  not 
so  clearly  define  the  most  modern  limit,  and  I  think  the  absence  of 
metal  in  the  present  instance  may  be  accounted  for  in  other  ways  : 
but  if  Dr.  Travis's  opinion  be  the  correct  one,  the  Gristhorpe  tumulus 
is  reduced  to  a  more  modern  date  than  most  of  those  of  the  Wiltshire 
Downs,  and  the  whole  of  the  argument  advanced  in  my  pamphlet  in 
support  of  its  high  antiquity  becomes  a  fallacy. 

"  I  should  in  the  first  place  say  that  the  individual  whose  remains 
were  found  in  the  Scarborough  tumulus  had  never  been  of  a  rank 
and  importance  equal  to  the  Gristhorpe  chief.     The  interment  in  the 

*  "The  opinion  is  given  as  that  of  Mr.  Gage,  Director  of  the  Society  of  Anti- 
quaries of  London ;  but,  as  the  author  expresses  no  conviction  to  the  contrary,  I 
suppose  it  to  be  also  his  own." 

II  —  2 


164  Sepulclu^al  Remains. 

kistvaen  is  the  least  important  and  laborious  of  all  the  honoraiy 
burial  rites.  The  single  utensil  found  by  his  side  was  not  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  prove  any  extraordinary  rank.  Now  the  Gristhorpe 
tumulus  was  of  a  very  different  nature  :  the  labour  of  hollowing  out 
the  oaken  coffin  must  have  been  immense,  and  would  not  have  been 
employed  except  in  a  case  where  the  highest  honour  was  intended. 
The  systematic  manner  in  which  the  coffin  was  covered  with  alternate 
layers  of  oak  branches,  clay,  and  stones,  implies  a  greater  degree  of 
care  employed  than  was  exhibited  in  the  covering  of  the  kistvaen  at 
Scarborough.  To  me  the  fact  appeared  evident,  that  the  Gristhorpe 
chieftain  had  been  a  person  of  higher  rank  and  importance  than  the 
one  at  Scarborough,  or  the  generality  of  those  on  the  Wiltshire 
Downs,  where  a  similar  mode  of  interment  has  been  adopted. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Phoenicians  first  introduced 
metal  and  earthenware  amongst  the  aboriginal  Britons,  and  that  the 
introduction  took  place  from  six  to  nine  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  era.  The  non-existence  of  brass,  then,  according  to  Dr. 
Travis's  conclusion,  would  be  a  proof  that  all  tumuli  not  containing 
such  metallic  weapons  or  ornaments  were  formed  prior  to  that  date ; 
a  conclusion  totally  different,  I  believe,  to  any  that  Sir  R.  Colt 
Hoare,  the  most  diligent  investigator  of  the  history  of  the  earlier 
Britons,  has  arrived  at.  If  the  person  entombed  in  the  Scarborough 
tumulus  was  a  character  of  inferior  rank  to  the  Gristhorpe  one,  the 
value  and  scarcity  of  metal  would  prevent  the  former  from  obtaining 
possession  of  it ;  or  if  he  did  so,  its  value  would  be  too  great,  and  he 
of  too  little  importance  to  admit  of  the  metal  being  buried  with  him. 
Besides,  it  does  not  appear  evident  that  the  body  found  in  the 
kistvaen  was  either  a  warrior  or  a  hunter,  the  two  professions  chiefly 
that  would  require  metals  as  such  an  important  part  of  their  outfit ; 
so  that  the  absence  of  metal  does  not  prove  much,  as  weapons,  to 
which  purpose  the  metals  would  be  chiefly  applied,  are  altogether 
wanting  in  the  primary  interment,  and  I  think  that  no  one  would 
suppose  the  second  interment,  one  by  cremation,  to  have  been 
formed  before  the  burial  of  the  Gristhorpe  chief. 

"  If,  then,  the  absence  of  metal  does  not  form  any  argument,  let  us 
examine  the  only  utensil  found  in  the  kistvaen,  the  earthen  drinking- 
cup,  which  contained  a  considerable  portion  of  vegetable  substance, 
originally,  in  all  probability,  some  kind  of  food.  In  the  Gristhorpe 
coffin  was  found  a  rude  dish  containing  a  similar  substance,  probably 
placed  there  with  a  similar  motive.  Here  the  dish  was  not  of  earthen- 
ware, but  (what  I  think  proves  a  far  lower  state  of  an  acquaintance 
with  domestic  comfort)  of  slips  of  bark  stitched  together  with  sinews 
of  animals,  a  utensil  which  would  never  have  been  used  for  such  a 
purpose  by  a  people  acquainted  with  the  art  of  ornamental  pottery, 
which  was  evidently  known  at  the  time  the  Scarborough  tumulus 
was  formed.      The  fact  appears  to  me  conclusive,  and  must,  I  think, 


Miscellaneous  Excavatioiis.  165 

do  so  to  all  who  view  the  subject  carefully,  that  the  Gristhorpe 
tumulus  is  of  an  older  date  than  the  one  recently  opened  at 
Scarborough. 

Yours,  etc.         W.  C.  Williamson. 

Cleveland. 
[1844,  Part  I.,  p.  188.] 

In  November  last  a  number  of  gentlemen  met  on  one  of  the 
Cleveland  hills  called  "  East  Nab  "  (which  commands  a  beautiful  view 
of  the  river  Tees  and  the  surrounding  country  for  many  miles),  in 
consequence  of  permission  being  obtained  of  the  Lord  of  the  Manor, 
Mr.  Martin  Stapylton,  to  excavate  two  tumuli,  situated  on  the  ridge 
of  the  mountain.  They  proceeded  to  investigate  the  western  mound, 
which  they  found  to  be  composed  of  small  stones,  slightly  intermixed 
with  earth,  and  having  with  much  labour  dug  to  the  depth  of  about  a 
yard  and  a  half,  they  struck  upon  an  immense  stone,  measuring  up- 
wards of  7  feet  long  by  4  feet  wide,  and  from  10  to  12  inches  in  thick- 
ness, weighing  about  a  ton,  shapeless  and  unhewn.  This,  by  the  aid  of 
handspikes  (obtained  from  a  neighbouring  quarry),  was  placed  on  one 
edge,  when  a  hollow  presented  itself,  of  a  grave-hke  appearance  ;  but 
it  contained  neither  skeleton,  urn,  coin,  weapon,  nor  any  other  relic 
of  antiquity.  After  clearing  away  the  loose  stones  by  which  the  slab 
was  supported,  the  workmen  struck  upon  another  flat  stone  of 
immense  size,  but  from  the  dangerous  position  in  which  they  were 
placed  it  was  deemed  unsafe  to  proceed  any  further.  They  next 
directed  their  attention  to  the  eastern  tumulus,  distant  about  forty 
yards ;  proceeding  in  the  manner  before  described,  by  digging  in 
depth  about  a  yard  and  a  half  towards  the  centre.  It  was  found  to 
differ  widely  from  the  former  one  in  the  inaterials  of  which  it  was 
composed,  consisting  chiefly  of  white  loamy  soil.  After  three  hours' 
labour  they  approached  its  centre,  and  on  removing  a  flat  stone  found 
an  urn,  containing  a  great  quantity  of  human  bones  and  teeth,  the 
latter  in  excellent  preservation.  It  was  in  height  about  16  inches  by 
12  inches  in  diameter,  composed  of  burnt  clay,  upwards  of  half  an 
inch  in  thickness,  and  in  colour  resembling  a  common  tile ;  it  had  a 
broad  rim  round  the  top,  and  its  sides  are  marked  in  a  curious 
manner  by  the  point  of  some  sharp  instrument.  In  turning  over  the 
mound  innumerable  small  heaps  of  burnt  wood,  or  charcoal,  were 
thrown  up.  Some  fifty  yards  due  north  of  the  tumuli  is  an  encamp- 
ment of  a  semi-circular  form,  and  of  considerable  extent. 

Mid-Calder. 

[1844,  Part  II.,  p.  533.] 

On  clearing  away  some  earth  from  an  old  barn-yard,  connected 
with  the  farm  of  Broom  Park,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mid-Calder,  a 


t66  Sepulchral  Remains. 

great  number  of  stone  coffins  were  found  a  few  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  On  removing  the  lids  the  bodies  were  found  in  good 
preservation,  the  principal  bones  being  perfectly  entire.  They  appear 
to  have  been  placed  in  their  coffins  without  any  kind  of  covering,  as 
no  habiliments  of  any  kind,  or  anything  to  indicate  their  rank, 
condition,  or  occupation  in  life,  could  be  discovered.  The  coffins 
consist  of  slabs  of  stones  got  from  the  river,  rudely  put  together  and 
constructed  on  the  spot. 

EXTWISTLE. 
[1842,  Part  II.,  p.  ^\Z?^ 

An  interesting  discovery  has  been  made  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Spencer,  of 
Halifax,  of  a  British  barrow,  in  the  township  of  Extwistle,  near 
Burnley.  Mr.  Spencer's  attention  had  been  called  by  Mr.  Jonas  Lee, 
farmer,  of  Thursden,  to  a  small  circle  of  stones  in  a  field  called  Delf- 
hill  Pasture,  at  Hellclough-head  {Hell.,  Ang.-Sax.  a  grave),  which,  on 
examination,  Mr.  Spencer  perceived  to  have  been  a  place  of  British 
sepulture.  The  circle  originally  consisted  of  rock  pillars  (five  of 
which  remain),  standing  about  18  inches  above  the  surface,  and  being 
about  2  feet  square.  The  diameter  of  the  circle  is  about  5  yards.  Mr. 
Spencer  directed  an  excavation  to  be  made  without  delay,  the  result 
of  which  was  the  discovery  of  two  very  antique  earthen  urns, 
curiously  marked,  containing  fragments  of  human  bones,  of  small 
dimensions,  mixed  with  charcoal  and  black  mould.  The  tops  of  the 
vessels  were  covered  with  small  flat  slate-stones,  but  little  larger  than 
the  urns,  over  which  larger  heavy  stones  were  placed  for  their  pro- 
tection. The  urns  were  found  about  2  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
field,  in  the  centre  of  the  circle,  embedded  in  soft  clay,  with  many 
pieces  of  charcoal  interspersed.  About  300  yards  from  the  barrow 
are  the  bold  remains  of  a  British  circular  camp,  which  determines  the 
character  of  the  urns,  the  Roman  encampments  being  square. 

SWINTON. 
[1863,  Part  I,  p.  481.] 

The  tumulus  on  the  heights  above  Swinton,  Yorkshire,  which  was 
partly  explored  in  November  last  by  a  cutting  from  the  north  side, 
was  again  investigated  at  the  close  of  December  by  the  same  parties. 
The  barrow  measures  26  yards  in  diameter,  and  nearly  4  feet  in 
height.  About  a  foot  and  a  half  below  the  summit  a  blue,  and 
what  geologists  would  call  Kimmeridge-like,  clay  was  reached,  the 
depth  of  which,  as  measured,  was  3  feet  10  inches,  and  placed  un- 
doubtedly as  an  expedient  to  prevent  percolation  of  surface  water. 
The  same  kind  of  clay,  it  appears,  is  found  plentifully  in  the  vale  on 
the  north  side  of  Swinton.  Immediately  below  the  clay  there  was 
discovered  a  floor  of  tiles  systematically  arranged  ;  these  tiles  are 
perforated  at  one  of  the  ends  with  a  hole  to  admit  a  nail,  evidently 


Miscellaneous  Excavations.  167 

showing  that  the  tiles  had  been  in  use  previous  to  their  occupying  the 
unusual  form  within  the  tumulus.  They  are  of  a  rude  form,  and  appear 
to  have  been  made  from  the  slate  of  the  lias  formation.  Below  the 
tiles,  which  were  about  on  a  level  with  the  adjoining  fields,  there 
seemed  to  be  the  ordinary  surface  soil,  but  intermixed  with  various 
sized  blocks  of  Hildenley  stone,  charcoal,  and  fragments  of  glazed 
pottery.  The  opening  was  much  enlarged  on  this  occasion,  not  only 
exposing  a  beautiful  section,  but  also  showing  that  the  barrow  had 
originally  been  excavated  below  the  surface,  but  without  meeting  with 
a  perfect  urn  or  incense-cup.  A  very  beautiful  bronze  needle  was 
found  in  the  previous  opening,  on  reaching  the  centre.  Some 
vegetable  remains  were  found  in  the  tumulus,  which  appeared  to  be 
nothing  more  than  the  stones  of  the  fruit  of  the  common  thorn. 

Antiquities  in  Scotland. 

[1771,//.  496,497.] 

We  know  so  little  about  the  antiquities  of  Scotland,  and  the  Scotch 
themselves  are  so  remiss  in  their  inquiries  after  them,  notwithstanding 
the  excellent  materials  collected  by  their  eminent  antiquaries  of  the 
last  age,  and  yet  preserved  in  the  Advocates'  Library  at  Edinburgh, 
that,  if  you  have  no  objection  to  inserting  it  in  your  useful  miscellany, 
I  here  offer  you  an  abstract  of  a  letter  communicated  to  the  publisher 
of  the  Scofs  Magazine,  and  printed  in  the  number  for  February,  1758. 
The  compilers  of  the  Scofs  and  Edinburgh  Afagazines  make  up  their 
volumes  with  pieces  from  yours  and  others  ;  and  why  should  not  you 
for  once  make  as  free  with  their  articles  of  intelligence,  to  preserve 
and  extend  knowledge  ? 

D.  H. 

"It  is  well  known  that  in  all  the  western  parts  of  Scotland,  border- 
ing on  the  Highlands,  are  almost  upon  every  considerable  eminence 
the  remains  of  some  fort,  tower,  or  whatever  else  you  may  please  to 
call  them  ;  for  they  are  very  ancient,  and  people  are  much  divided 
about  their  use.  Some  of  these  have  been  made  of  earth,  others  of 
stone.  The  gentlemen  near  Stirling,  making  a  useful  road  across 
the  country  from  Doune  to  Kippen,  materials  being  scarce,  broke 
up  one  of  these  stone  places,  whichi  was  pretty  entire,  though 
covered  with  earth.  Before  it  was  opened,  it  looked  like  a  hill, 
hollowed  out  in  the  top.  The  workmen  found  some  substances  of 
different  shapes  and  sizes,  the  larger  round,  and  about  four  inches 
diameter,  all  concave  on  one  side,  and  convex  on  the  other,  smooth 
and  shining  on  the  convex  side,  green,  studded  with  drops,  as  of 
black  glass,  about  the  size  of  half  a  pea,  and  set  in  rows.  They  were 
all  broke  to  pieces,  and  said  to  be  of  earth  and  stone  ware.  After 
removing  the  rubbish,  they  came  to  a  circular  wall  of  round  stones, 
15  feet  thick  at  the  foundation,  and  gradually  thinner  upwards. 
The  middle  of  this  rotunda  was  laid  with  causay,  as  was  a  large  area 


1 68  Sepulchral  Remains. 

on  the  outside.  In  taking  down  the  wall,  they  came  to  a  door,  not 
ten  inches  wide,  and  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high.  On  each  side  of 
it  was  a  hole  in  the  wall,  as  for  a  bolt,  a  foot  square,  and  about  three 
yards  long  each  way.  At  one  end  of  the  cavity,  four  flag-stones  on 
edge,  forming  a  chest,  containing  bones  of  animals,  one  like  the  jaw 
of  a  hare.  Among  the  bones  were  three  triangular  pieces  of  copper, 
of  the  size  of  a  halfpenny,  all  broke  by  the  labourers.  One  third  of 
the  rotunda  is  still  standing.  A  gun-shot  from  it  is  an  artificial  hill 
of  earth.  The  proprietor,  intending  to  plant  it  with  trees,  had  it  dug 
into,  when  it  was  found  full  of  urns,  some  with  inscriptions,  not 
legible ;  on  which  they  desisted." 

Your  readers  may  compare  with  this  account  a  letter  from  the  late 
Baron  Clark  to  Mr.  Gate,  printed  at  the  end  of  Gordon's  "  Itine- 
rarium  Septent,"  p.  169,  where  he  mentions  such  a  hill  or  cairn,  with 
a  stone  coffin  in  Pennecuic  parish,  in  Midlothian,  and  another  with 
urns  in  the  west  of  Scotland. 

On  Picts'  Houses. 
[1863,  Part  /.,  pp.  217, 218.] 

Having  read  the  short  notice  in  your  last  number  of  Mr.  G.  Petrie's 
memoir  "  On  the  Structures  called  Picts'  Houses,"  which  was  com- 
municated to  the  Archaeological  Institute  on  December  6th  last,  I 
beg  to  say  that  I  apprehend  the  word  "  houses  "  is  only  a  corruption 
of  "  houes,"  or  rather  "  howes."  The  word  in  the  singular  number 
is  "howe,"  which  signifies  the  same  as  "haw,"  and  means  "a  hill" 
or  "  mound ;"  and  in  the  old  Scandinavian  language  it  is  "  haug,"  or 
"  houhr  :"  it  is  in  this  sense  used  as  a  sepulchral  tumulus  or  barrow. 
And  Mr.  Farrer's  interesting  work  on  "  Maes-howe,"  which  he  so  ably 
investigated  in  one  of  the  Orkneys,  corroborates  this  opinion. 
"  Maes  "  signifies  "  an  open  field,"  "  a  plain,"  or  "  level  ground  "  (see 
Gibson's  "Camden's  Britannia,"  2nd  ed.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  810,  826),  and 
"howe"  "a  mound;"  so  "Maes-howe"  means  "a  mound  on  a 
plain."  Again,  the  word  "maes-lough"  is  interpreted  "  a  lake  in  a 
plain." 

The  paper,  likewise,  in  your  same  number,  pp.  22,  27,  proves  this 
view  of  the  etymology  of  "  houes  ;"  and  these  structures  are  not  un- 
frequent  on  the  Cleveland  hills  of  north-eastern  Yorkshire.  Indeed, 
in  some  instances  I  know  that  in  that  district  the  natural  hills,  from 
being  like  in  shape  perhaps  to  the  usual  artificial  tumuli,  are  also 
termed  "houe,"  or  "howe:"  for  example,  Shunner  Howe,  or 
Shunner  Hill,  which  is  distant  about  three  miles  to  the  south-east  of 
the  village  of  Danby.  So  Greenhowe  is  the  "  green  hill,"  and 
Howe-hill  means  "  barrow  hill,"  or  "artificial  mound  hill  :"  it  is  near 
the  village  of  Seamer.  Many  other  barrow  hills,  or  tumulus-like  hills, 
occur  in   that  portion  of  Yorkshire,  and  they  bear  such  names  as 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  169 

Stanghowe,  Glasshowe,  Brownhowe,  Blakhowe,  Threehowes,  Arnhowe, 
Leafhovve,  etc. 

As  some  of  the  larger  tumuli,  or  "howes,"  possess  several  sepul- 
chral rooms  or  chambers,  they  may  probably,  after  being  opened, 
have  afforded  from  time  to  time  residences  to  some  of  the  poorer 
class,  and  have  thus  strengthened  the  corrupted  change  of  appellation 
from  "  houe  "  to  "  house."  Again,  as  to  the  specific  term  of  "  Picts' 
Houses,"  I  conclude  the  word  Pict  is  merely  used  to  denote  primi- 
tive or  ancient,  i.e.,  ancient  houses  or  "houes  "  of  some  early  people, 
whether  Celts,  British,  Picts,  or  Romans,  or  Scandinavians.  In  this 
sense  the  "  Picts'  Houses  "  in  the  Orkneys  are  evidently  intended. 
See  Gibson's  "Camden's  Britannia,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  1468  ;  and  under  the 
name  of  Peights-hillocks  and  Pight-houses,  see  same  work,  pp.  1480, 
14S1.  Likewise  in  Cumberland  are  some  caverns  termed  "Picts' 
Holes,"  which  may  possibly  have  been  used  as  dweUings — 

"  Domus  antra  fuerunt ;" 

but  some  Latin  inscriptions  taken  from  them  prove  that  these  holes 
were  of  Roman  construction.  Vide  ibid.  p.  1004.  And  in  the  same 
sense  the  well-known  Roman  wall  between  Newcastle  and  Carlisle  is 
often  called  Picts'  Wall.  Compare  Gibson's  "  Camden,"  vol.  ii.,  p. 
105 1,  etc. 

I  am,  etc.         J.  H. 

[1863,  Part  /.,  pp.  357,  358.] 

In  " Landnamabdk "  (Pt.  i.,  c.  v.),  I  find  that  Leif,  the  foster- 
brother  of  Ingolf,  the  first  Norwegian  settler  in  Iceland,  in  the  course 
of  a  plundering  expedition  to  Ireland  "  found  there  a  great  under- 
ground house,"  which,  although  pitmurk,  yet  permitted  the  gleam  of 
a  naked  sword  to  be  visible.  The  narrative  relates  how  the  North- 
man slew  the  Irisher,  and,  besides  much  goods,  took  also  the  sword 
and  an  addition  to  his  name  from  the  circumstance ;  being  thence- 
forward called  "  Hidrleif,"  ie.,  "Leif  of  the  Sword." 

Again,  in  Pt.  ii.,  c.  xix.,  there  is  the  fact  recorded  that  Lidtolf  and 
Thorstein,  bent  on  taking  blood-vengeance  on  Biorn,  beset  him  "  in 
an  underground  house,"  and  being  helped  by  Eilif  (who  had  the  luck 
to  find  a  second  entrance  to  Biorn's  retreat,  and  came  upon  him  from 
behind),  slew  him  there. 

The  word  used  in  both  these  passages  hjardhns,  "  a  house  in  the 
earth  :"  the  thing  is  mentioned  in  the  most  matter-of-fact  sort  of  way, 
without  a  syllable  of  comment,  because  (of  course)  everybody  knew 
what  ?i  jardhus  was. 

Again  :  about  every  ten  pages  or  so  in  this  old  record  I  find  men- 
tion made  of  the  death  and  burial  of  some  Scandinavian  worthy.  In 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  is  said  (though  occasionally  with  the  addition 
that  his  pet  ship  supplied  him  with  a  roomy  kind  of  coffin),  "  oc  er 
hann  heygdr,"  which  simply  is  "and  he  was  houed.^' 


170  Sepulchral  Remains. 

There  are  also  two  or  three  other  terms  used  in  connection  with 
the  notice  of  a  burial,  e.g.,  disiadr*  \ijifa,  g?'ajinn.  But  all  these, 
except  the  last,  imply  or  express  the  heaping  up  of  the  grave-tumulus, 
or  /lotte. 

From  the  collation  of  which  statements  and  terms  I  infer  that  in 
the  minds  of  the  ancient  Northmen  written  of  and  for,  the  word 
jardhus  carried  no  idea  of  sepulture  connected  with  it,  but  the  exact 
contrary  ;  the  structures  so  termed  were,  both  in  Ireland  and  Iceland, 
well  known  and  used  as  places  of  habitation,  or  refuge,  or  storage  of 
valuables — probably  all  three  combined. 

The  communication  in  your  last  number  (p.  217),  signed  J.  H., 
brought  the  two  passages  above  referred  to  to  my  recollection ;  and 
it  certainly  occurred  to  me  as  much  more  likely  that  the  word 
"  houses  "  in  Picts'  houses  should  have  descended  (and  especially  in 
a  one-time  Scandinavian  district)  from  the  Scandinavian  hus,  than 
have  been  corrupted  from  the  modern  representative  of  the  Scandi- 
navian haiigi'.^ 

Shunnor  Houe  is  a  hone  properly  so  called;  that  is,  a  sepulchral  or 
grave-hill.  It  lies  very  nearly  six  miles  (not  three,  as  stated  by  J.  H.), 
"as  the  crow  flies,"  from  Danby  End,  a  little  to  the  southward  of 
east.  The  true  instance  of  the  application  of  the  term  houe  to  a 
natural  hill  in  this  Cleveland  district,  is  in  the  case  of  a  hill  which  lies 
close  to  Castleton  on  the  south-east,  and  is  852  feet  high,  with  a 
longer  diameter  of  nearly  half  a  mile.  This  hill  is  called  "The 
Hone"  par  excellence.  I  do  not  recollect  any  other  like  application 
of  the  term  in  the  district. 

I  know  Stanghow,  Brownhoue  (more  than  one  of  the  name),  Blaky- 
houe,  the  Three  Houes  (in  several  instances  ;  they  are  often  placed  in 
groups  of  three),  Arnhoue,  Leafhoue,  though  not  Glasshoue ;  and 
many  others  with  the  same  peculiarity  that  characterizes  most  of 
these,  namel)',  that  notwithstanding  ihe  fact  that,  without  a  single  ex- 
ception as  far  as  inquiry  has  been  prosecuted,  they  are  of  remote 
Celtic  origin,  still  the  prefix,  as  well  as  the  word  hone,  is  Scandinavian, 
and  in  no  small  proportion  of  instances  due  to  a  man's  name  :  for 
instance,  Arn,  Leif  In  Glasshoue  the  prefix  would  seem  to  be  the 
same  as  in  Glaisdale,  anciently  written  Glasdale.  Stanghow  (the 
name  of  a  township  in   Skelton  parish)  is,  I  believe,  Esteintona  in 

*  Disiadr  implies  that  the  tumulus  was  heaped  or  piled  in  regular  order ;  for 
instance,  in  layers  or  (as  spoken  of  mason-work)  courses.  Compare  the  account 
and  section  of  the  Jioue  given  in  the  January  number,  p.  24.  Heygdr  simply  implies 
that  a  grave-hill  was  made  over  the  l^ody.  We  still  use  the  terms  dcss,  dessed  (as 
well  as  hotie),  in  the  specified  sense,  in  Cleveland. 

f  Haiigr  is  the  Old  Norse  word,  which  is  thus  interpreted  by  Haldorsen  : 
"  Collis,  tumulus  viortuoruvi."  The  cognate  verb  is  hauga,  coaccrvare.  The 
equivalent  modern  Danish  word  is  //•»/ ;  and,  in  the  districts  of  Britain  most 
efiectually  colonised  by  the  Danes  and  Northmen,  the  surviving  representative  of 
haiigr  is  "houe,"  or  " howe."  I  do  not  find kotihr,  nor  do  I  think  it  can  be  really 
Scandinavian. 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  171 

Domesday ;  and,  any  way,  there  is  difficulty  in  determining  the 
meaning  of  staiig  in  connection  with  houe :  except  it  be  surmised 
that,  as  had  been  the  case  with  the  large  tumulus  referred  to  in  a 
previous  note,  a  sta7ig*  or  pole,  had  been  for  some  purpose  erected 
on  its  summit.  In  the  case  instanced,  the  butt  of  an  oak  sapling  of 
7  or  8  inches  in  diameter  was  found  sunk  into  the  centre  of  the  hill, 
and  it  seems  impossible  to  surmise  with  what  intention. 

I  am,  etc.         J.  C.  Atkinson. 

Cairn  in  the  Isle  of  Skye. 

[1841,  Part  /.,  //.  33-37.] 

In  the  autumn  of  1839,  during  a  short  tour  in  the  north  of  Scot- 
land, which  I  had  the  advantage  of  making  in  company  with  a  dear 
friend,  himself  a  Scotchman,  I  visited  the  Isle  of  Skye.  My  stay  in 
that  interesting  island  extended  only  to  two  days  and  a  half,  during 
which  it  rained  incessantly  (in  fact  it  always  rains  in  Skye) ;  but  some 
of  the  observations  which  I  collected  during  that  brief  interval,  being 
of  an  antiquarian  character,  will  perhaps  prove  acceptable  to  your 
antiquarian  readers. 

My  principal  object  in  addressing  you  is  to  offer  a  short  description 
of  a  sepulchral  chamber  in  a  cairn,  situated  near  Broadford,  in  the 
Isle  of  Skye ;  and,  in  order  to  make  my  narrative  more  intelligible,  I 
beg  to  refer  you  to  the  annexed  representation,  copied  from  a  sketch 
made  on  the  spot  by  myself 

Before  proceeding  to  describe,  I  should  perhaps  premise  that 
Broadford — though  a  post-town,  and  possessing,  as  such,  considerable 
local  importance — is  an  inconsiderable  place,  situated  on  the  north 
coast  of  the  southern  part  of  Skye,  commanding  a  glorious  view 
of  the  opposite  mountains  in  Ross-shire.  The  neighbouring  district 
belongs  to  a  gentleman  named  Macinnon,  better  known  by  the  appel- 
lation of  his  estate,  "  Coirrie  chatachan ;"  for  mentioning  whom  it 
will  be  a  sufficient  excuse  to  state  that  the  cairn  in  question  stands  on 
a  part  of  his  property ;  as  well  as  that  my  companion  and  myself 
were  indebted  to  his  kindness  for  pointing  out  to  us  this  singular 
monument  of  antiquity. 

Mr.  Macinnon's  house  may  be  said  to  stand  on  the  sea-shore — a 
small  garden  in  front  occupying  the  only  intervening  space ;  about 
half  a  mile  eastward  of  which  stands  Broadford  Inn,  and  nearly  mid- 
way, in  a  field  of  which  the  beach  forms  the  northern  boundary, 
is  situated  the  cairn,  which  is  circular,  and  measures  125  paces  round 
the  base.  It  is  reported  to  have  been  of  a  conical  shape  within  the 
memory  of  persons  living  ;  but  that  the  stones  which  formed  the  apex 
have  been  carried  away  by  the  poor  people  to  assist  them  in  building 
their  cottages.  However  this  may  be,  the  cairn  is  conical  no  longer, 
*  Staling,  Old  Norse,  a  pole  or  stake. 


172  Sepulchral  Remains, 

but  flat  at  top  ;  and,  except  here  and  there,  where  a  few  of  the  stones 
of  which  it  was  originally  constructed  are  visible,  it  is  covered  with 
grass. 

To  a  person  standing  on  the  summit  of  this  mound,  it  seems  clear, 
after  an  attentive  survey,  that  it  must  contain  several  sepulchral 
chambers.  The  surface,  which  swells  slightly  at  regular  intervals, 
seems  to  afford  unequivocal  indications  of  about  ten  such  subter- 
ranean structures,  circularly  disposed,  and  of  a  larger  one  in  the 
centre  ;  and  this  supposition  is  confirmed  in  the  strongest  manner  by 
the  discovery,  which  accidentally  took  place  some  years  ago,  of  a 
chamber  beneath  one  of  the  protuberances  just  alluded  to.  The  dis- 
covery was  made  by  a  poor  girl,  who  related  the  circumstance  to  me 
as  follows  : — One  day,  when  she  was  sitting  on  the  cairn,  some  of  the 
earth  near  her  suddenly  gave  way,  and  fell  in ;  presently,  a  large  stone 
followed,  revealing,  to  her  great  surprise  and  alarm,  a  dark  hole, 
and  showing  that  the  cairn  whereon  she  had  been  sitting  was  hollow. 
She  ran  and  communicated  her  discovery  to  some  men,  who  first 
threw  some  stones  into  the  cavern,  and  then  descended.  The  ac- 
count of  such  very  incompetent  observers  is  hardly  to  be  trusted  ; 
but  I  was  assured  that  the  tomb  contained  nothing  but  a  coffin 
formed  by  a  series  of  rough  flag-stones,  disposed  so  as  to  form  a 
receptacle  for  the  human  body ;  part  of  a  skeleton,  and  (I  believe) 
an  amber  bead,  together  with  some  other  little  object  which  she 
could  not  describe. 

The  triangular  aperture  which  you  will  recognise  in  the  drawing 
(to  render  which  more  easily  distinguishable,  Mr.  Macinnon  was  re- 
presented peeping  in),  indicates  the  size  and  position  of  the  stone 
which  became  dislodged  on  the  occasion  of  the  original  discovery. 
Having  descended  through  that  aperture,  the  annexed  sketch  gives 
you  a  faithful  representation  of  the  curious  internal  structure  which 
immediately  presents  itself  The  chamber  is  hexagonal,  and  was 
evidently  formed  in  the  first  instance  by  six  huge  stones,  or  rather 
masses  of  rock  circularly  disposed  ;  the  spaces  between  them  being 
filled  up  by  smaller  flat  stones  piled  horizontally  one  upon  another. 
The  base  of  the  sepulchral  chamber  measures  four  or  five  paces 
across ;  but  this  space  is  made  progressively  to  diminish  above,  by 
three  or  four  layers  of  huge  stones,  each  superior  layer  projecting 
beyond  that  on  which  it  reposes,  till  a  circular  aperture  is  formed, 
measuring  7  feet  in  diameter.  Over  this,  which  may  be  called  the 
mouth  of  the  tomb,  a  large  flat  stone  is  laid.  A  section  of  the 
structure  is  represented  in  the  figure  (a).  An  immense  number  of 
stones,  evidently  collected  on  the  sea-shore,  from  the  marine  incrusta- 
tions yet  discernible  upon  them,  piled  round  and  above,  constituted 
the  cairn. 

It  will  be  naturally  asked  how  anyone  could  survey  so  singular  a 
monument  without  wishing  to  extend  the  discovery  by  an  excavation. 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  173 

Being  prevented  by  unfavourable  circumstances  of  wind  and  weather 
from  visiting  with  my  kind  friends  the  wonders  of  Corrie  Usk  and  Glen 
Sligachan — a  loss  which  it  is  impossible  to  recollect  without  the  most 
lively  regret — the  cairn  was  resorted  to  as  a  kind  oi pis  alter,  and  on 
its  stubborn  sides  was  expended  some  of  the  fervour  which  the  antici- 
pation of  a  visit  to  Corrie  Usk  had  kindled.  An  understanding  was 
speedily  entered  into  with  nine  active  lads,  who,  with  a  "pick-axe 
and  a  spade,  a  spade,"  attacked  the  stony  heap  at  three  different 
points,  under  the  auspices  of  divers  grave  old  Gaels ;  who,  folding 
their  plaids  about  them,  sat  smoking  their  wee  pipes,  and  predicting 
between  every  whiff  that  tJie  Saxon  would  not  find  anything.  A 
troop  of  half-clad  children,  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  under- 
taking, swarmed  to  the  spot,  and  contributed  to  make  a  very  pic- 
turesque scene ;  for  I  must  request  you  to  imagine  the  sea  on  one 
side,  beautifully  calm,  and  bounded  by  a  fine  range  of  hills,  spiri- 
tualized by  distance,  their  hues  varying  beneath  every  cloud  and  every 
sunbeam.  On  the  other  side,  swelling  up  in  solitary  grandeur,  rose  a 
huge  hill,  around  which  a  veil  of  mist  was  perpetually  floating,  now 
half-way  up  its  side,  now  wreathed  about  its  base,  and  now  obscuring 
it  entirely  ;  but  more  frequently  resting  on  the  summit  alone,  and 
shrouding  from  view  the  spot  where,  according  to  tradition,  the 
Queen  of  Haco,  King  of  Norway,  is  buried.  She  desired  that  her 
body  might  be  deposited  there  (so  runs  the  story)  in  order  that  the 
winds  of  her  native  land  might  sometimes  blow  over  her  grave  ;  and 
the  hill  is  called  in  consequence  "  Beinn  na  caillich,"  or  "  the  old 
woman's  hill."  But  some  people  say  that  the  auld  wife  was  King 
Haco's  nurse,  and  not  his  queen.  This  is  a  point,  however,  which,  I 
suspect,  we  must  leave  the  old  ladies  to  settle  between  them.  The 
original  name  is  said  to  have  been  Duisgir,  of  which  the  meaning  is 
not  known. 

To  return  to  our  own  proceedings.  Our  first  attempt  was  made  at 
what  appeared  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  chamber  already  opened, 
in  order  to  effect  an  entrance,  if  possible,  into  the  adjoining  chamber  : 
almost  simultaneously,  an  attack  was  commenced  on  another  well- 
pronounced  protuberance,  a  few  yards  further  on  ;  and  a  deer-keeper, 
who  stood  by  with  his  gun,  having  volunteered  to  show  a  royal  road 
into  the  cairn,  a  third  breach  was  commenced  at  his  suggestion  on 
the  side  nearest  the  sea.  He  declared  that  he  had  been  present  at 
the  excavation  of  many  similar  cairns  in  Caithness,  and  promised 
success,  if  I  would  only  attend  to  his  recommendation. 

Long  and  patiently  did  we  persevere,  and  more  and  more  certain 
did  we  feel  as  every  fresh  stone  was  lifted  out  and  rolled  down  the 
side  of  the  cairn,  that  we  were  approaching  the  mouth  of  a  second 
subterranean  chamber  ;  but  no  symptoms  of  so  glorious  a  consumma- 
tion did  we  discover.  The  afternoon  wore  away :  hope  deferred 
made  the  heart  rather  sick  ;  and  the  mist,  which  had  been  playfully 


174  Septilchral  Remains. 

threatening  us  for  the  first  hour  or  two,  speedily  began  to  dissolve  in 
rain — a  systematic  drenching  rain,  which  at  first  dispersed  the 
spectators,  and  ended  by  dispiriting  my  men.  Some  whisky, 
judiciously  administered,  kept  up  their  spirits  till  eight  o'clock,  at 
which  hour  they  fairly  struck,  disappointed  and  wet  to  the  skin  ;  but 
a  promise  was  exacted  from  them  at  parting,  that  they  would  be  on 
the  ground  by  four  o'clock  on  the  following  morning. 

On  the  morrow  it  was  very  tantalizing,  Mr.  Urban,  to  know  that  I 
should  be  obliged  to  leave  the  island  at  nine  o'clock,  and  to  see  none 
of  the  rogues  make  their  appearance  till  six.  To  work,  however,  at 
six  we  went.  Down  came  the  rain,  of  course  (for  it  always  rains  in 
Skye),  and  in  spite  of  fair  words  and  whisky,  at  the  end  of  two  hours 
the  labourers,  one  and  all,  vowed  that  it  was  impossible  to  go  on 
digging  any  longer,  and  threw  down  their  spades  accordingly. 
Meanwhile,  the  revenue-cutter  which  was  to  conduct  our  party  to 
Balmacarra  in  Ross-shire  was  waiting  to  waft  us  from  Skye ;  so  that 
remonstrance  with  my  pioneers  would  have  been  useless.  Away  we 
went — I  most  reluctantly — from  my  cairn ;  which  the  charming 
society  we  met  with  on  board  the  Swift  (commanded  by  Captain 
Beatson)  could  scarcely  teach  me  to  forget.     But  to  return. 

It  is  a  very  surprising  thing  that  I  failed  in  finding  one  or  more  of 
the  sepulchral  chambers  which  I  was  in  search  of.  All  the  three 
points  against  which  the  excavation  had  been  directed  resembled 
externally  that  portion  of  the  cairn  which  had  accidentally  been  found 
to  contain  a  sepulchre  chamber ;  and  in  all  these  three  instances  did 
we  dig  from  2  to  3  feet  below  the  level  of  the  mouth  of  the  said 
chamber.  I  may  also  mention  that  before  they  abandoned  the  task, 
the  workmen  had  made  such  progress,  that  what  at  first  were  two  holes, 
had  become  one  large  one,  by  their  two  excavations  meeting. 

Before  concluding,  I  wish  to  offer  a  few  remarks  on  the  probable 
history  of  the  cairn  I  have  been  describing  ;  and  must  beg  your 
patience  and  attention  for  a  few  minutes  more,  while  I  advert  as 
briefly  as  I  am  able  to  a  delightful  and  highly  poetical  peculiarity 
which  struck  me  much  in  the  north,  and  at  Skye  particularly.  I 
allude  to  the  local  nomenclature  of  every  meadow,  rock,  and  hill, 
which  prevails  so  universally. 

An  intelligent  young  clergyman,  by  name  William  Taylor,  was 
obliging  enough  to  furnish  me  with  the  names  of  the  different 
localities  immediately  adjoining  the  cairn,  together  with  their  significa- 
tions ;  which  are  as  follows.  The  local  name  of  the  field  in  which 
the  cairn  stands  is  "  Fiasag,"  which  means  ("  the  field  of)  beards." 

Supposing  you  to  stand  with  your  face  to  the  sea,  the  field  behind 
is  called  "  Pairc  dhubh,"  which  means  "black  park  or  field,"  and  the 
field  behind  that,  "  Goirtean  a'  bhlair,"  which  means  "the  field  of  the 
battle."  Beyond  is  a  locality  known  as  "  Guala  fa'n  dubhai,"  which 
means  "the  shoulder  of  lamentation."     The  first  field  on  the  left  is 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  175 

called  "  Achadh  nan  earn,"  which  means  "  the  field  of  the  cairns  ;" 
behind  which  is  another  "black  park  or  field."  Next  in  order  comes 
"  Pairc  bheag,"  which  means  "  little  park  ;"  and  a  narrow  slip  of 
ground  separating  this  from  the  beach  is  called  "  Port  an  teampuill," 
which  means  the  "port  of  the  temple."  Next  comes  Cul  an 
t-sabhaill,  which  means  "  behind  the  barn ;"  in  the  rear  of  which  stands 
"  Creag  an  eas,"  which  means  "  the  rock  of  the  waterfall,"  apparently 
a  very  inappropriate  name  ;  and  further  back  still  "  Glaic  bhuidhe," 
or  the  "  yellow  hollow."  The  residence  of  Mr.  Macinnon,  which 
comes  next,  is  improperly  called  "  Coirrie,"  that  name  being  the 
appellation  still  retained  by  a  locality  about  three  miles  off,  where 
stands  the  farm  anciently  inhabited  by  the  family.  "  Coirrie  "  is  an 
abbreviation,  the  entire  name  being  "  Coirrie  chatachan,"  that  is, 
"  the  corrie  or  hollow,"  literally  cauldron,  "  of  wild  cats."  The  present 
residence  is  sometimes  called  "  Laoras,"  of  which  the  meaning  is  not 
known.  I  could  conduct  you  further,  but  had  better  avail  myself  of 
your  patience,  to  lay  down  the  geography  of  the  ground  on  the  right 
hand  of  a  person  standing  on  the  cairn. 

A  stream  which  divides  "  Fiasag  "  from  Broadford  is  called,  near 
its  mouth,  "  AUtan  na  bracha,"  which  means  the  "  streamlet  of  malt," 
because  it  was  formerly  used  in  distilling  ;  higher  up  it  is  called  the 
"streamlet  of  seals."  A  road  running  parallel  with  the  beach 
separates  "  Goirtean  na  traghad,"  the  "  field  of  the  shore,"  from 
"  Goirtean  na  h-uamha,"  the  "  field  of  the  cave,"  to  which  I  shall 
return  by  and  by.  The  meadows  behind  these  are  severally  called 
the  "  height  of  Broadford,"  the  "  short  hill,"  and  the  "  field  of  colt's 
foot."  Next  in  order  comes  "  Bearbhai,"  of  which  the  meaning  is 
unknown  ;  but  a  cairn  stood  here  which  was  lately  removed,  inside 
which,  among  other  objects,  was  found  a  curious  ornament  of  green 
stone,  pierced  with  four  holes.  Further  on  is  "Achadh  a'  chuirn," 
which  means  the  "  field  of  the  cairn." 

The  extremity  of  this  part  of  the  coast  is  called  "Dun-acuinn,"  which 
means  the  "castle  of  Haco,"  by  whom  tradition  declares  the  castle  to 
have  been  built.  It  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  "  Caol- 
acuinn,"  which  means  the  "  straits  of  Haco ;"  that  monarch,  as  it  is 
said,  having  passed  through  them  when  he  went  on  his  great  expe- 
dition. 

I  propose  to  say  a  few  words  more  concerning  the  "  field  of  the 
cave,"  so  called  nobody  knew  why,  till  an  accident  revealed  the  pro- 
priety of  the  appellation.  Mr.  Macinnon  informed  me  that  a  few 
years  ago  a  labourer  of  his,  ploughing  in  that  field,  turned  up  a  large 
stone,  which  produced  a  hollow,  into  which  the  man  fell.  This  led 
to  some  investigation,  when  a  subterranean  passage  was  discovered, 
extending  to  about  100  feet  towards  the  sea,  and  capacious  enough 
to  admit  a  person  on  all-fours.  It  terminated  in  a  circular  chamber, 
which  might  have  contained   four  persons  crowded  close  together ; 


176  SepulcJwal  Remains. 

and  here  some  sheep-bones,  a  few  cinders,  and  a  quern  (or  stone  for 
grinding  corn)  were  found,  obviously  showing  that  it  had  been  a 
place  for  retreat  and  concealment  in  some  remote  age. 

So  much  for  matters  of  fact.  The  traditions  of  the  islanders 
remain  to  be  noticed  ;  and  these,  vague  as  they  undoubtedly  are, 
are  as  unquestionably  founded  in  truth.  A  battle,  say  they,  was 
fought  on  the  "field  of  the  battle,"  between  the  Scandinavians 
(Lochlannaich)  and  the  Gaels ;  and  during  the  engagement,  the 
women  stood  on  the  shoulder  of  a  neighbouring  hill,  watching  the 
progress  of  the  engagement ;  which  being  disastrous,  they  wrung 
their  hands,  crying  "  Fa  mo  dhubhai,  fa  mo  d/iubhai"  "  My  cause  of 
mourning,  my  cause  of  mourning,"  or,  as  we  should  say,  "  Alas  ! 
alas  !"  From  which  circumstance  the  place  is  called  "  the  shoulder  of 
the  cause  of  mourning  (or  of  lamentation)"  to  this  day.  "  Narrations 
like  this,"  as  Dr.  Johnson  justly  observes  on  another  occasion,  "  how- 
ever uncertain,  deserve  the  notice  of  a  traveller,  because  they  are  the 
only  records  of  a  nation  which  has  no  historians."  That  the  event 
was  memorable,  and,  to  the  last  degree,  important  to  the  natives 
themselves,  everything  conspires  to  prove ;  the  nomenclature  of  the 
neighbourhood, — six  large  cairns,  of  which  I  believe  but  two  remain, 
and  the  numerous  stone  coffins  (composed,  each,  of  four  flat  stones) 
which  were  discovered  in  the  "  field  of  cairns,"  twenty  or  thirty  years 
ago.  Lastly,  a  nursery  rhyme  may  be  cited,  which  no  one  can 
explain,  though  every  child  in  the  island  repeats  it.  It  is  a  mere 
string  of  names,  the  four  first  being  the  names  of  four  very  small 
neighbouring  islands  ;  and  my  intelligent  informer  declared  it  to  be 
his  opinion  that  it  was  a  traditional  list  of  the  most  remarkable  places 
connected  with  the  calamitous  events  which  had  once  befallen  the 
island.     The  words  are  these  ("is  "  or  "  's  "  means  and) : 

"  Giullamam  's  Longai, 
Is  Crolain  's  Pabai, 
Achadh  a'  chuinn  's  Achadh  nan  earn, 
Goirtean  a'  bhlair  's  Fa'n  Dubhai." 

The  poor  people  do  not  seem  to  be  aware  that  a  cairn  was  a  place 
of  interment ;  on  the  contrary,  one  Hugh  Ross,  famous  for  his  skill 
in  reciting  Ossian's  poems,  assured  me  very  gravely  that  the  cairn  in 
Fiasag  was  a  prison,  in  which  nine  Norwegians  had  been  incarcerated. 
It  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  however,  that  some  of  the  most  honour- 
able of  the  slain  were  interred  there,  after  the  memorable  battle  above 
alluded  to  ;  and  surely,  in  the  absence  of  authentic  records,  it  is  some- 
thing to  be  able  thus  to  obtain  a  glimpse  even  of  annals  so  remote 
— remote,  geographically  as  well  as  historically  speaking  ;  nor  is  it 
difficult,  when  the  very  stones,  as  it  were,  thus  speak  to  one,  to  fill  up 
the  meagre  outlines  of  the  tale  of  lang  syne  which  they  supply,  with 
deeds  of  blood,  and  the  shapes  of  heroes  such  as  Ossian  delighted  to 
celebrate. 

J.  W.  B. 


Ayitiquities  in  Scotland.  177 


Caithness. 
\\%(>(i.  Part  I.,  pp.  65-68.] 

In  July  last,  Dr.  Hunt,  F.S.A.,  etc.,  the  President  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical Society  of  London,  spent  some  days  in  Caithness  on  his  way 
south  from  Shetland,  where  he  had  been  conducting  an  exploring 
expedition  with  considerable  success.  Dr.  Hunt's  engagements  did 
not  permit  of  his  remaining  in  Caithness  for  any  length  of  time  to 
investigate  its  antiquities  in  person,  but  a  small  grant  from  the 
Society's  funds  was  entrusted  to  Messrs.  Anderson  and  Shearer,  as  a 
local  committee,  under  whose  superintendence  the  investigations  were 
carried  on,  and  the  structure  of  one  class  of  the  ancient  remains  of 
Caithness  has  thus  for  the  first  time  been  ascertained. 

The  hills  around  the  Loch  of  Yarrows  are  singularly  interesting, 
both  on  account  of  their  natural  beauties  as  well  as  on  account  of  the 
number  and  variety  of  the  ancient  remains  with  which  they  are 
studded.  The  margin  of  this  pretty  loch  and  the  neighbouring 
heights  seem  in  ancient  times  to  have  been  a  favourite  settlement  of 
the  old  inhabitants.  Around  its  shores  at  intervals  are  numerous 
tumuli  yet  unexplored,  the  ruins  doubtless  of  the  dwellings  or  the 
sepulchres  of  the  tribes  that  frequented  its  margin.  Some  of  these 
have  long  since  been  quarried  away  and  built  into  dykes  or  dwellings 
for  the  modern  inhabitants.  In  one  of  these  "  cairns,"  thus  removed, 
some  years  ago,  was  found  a  beautiful  fluted  cup  or  vase,  of  coarse 
pottery,  but  of  very  elegant  design,  which  is  still  carefully  preserved 
in  Pulteneytown  by  Mr.  David  Coghill,  into  whose  possession  it  came 
when  the  cairn  was  removed.  A  beautiful  polished  stone  hatchet, 
with  a  hole  bored  through  it  for  the  handle,  and  which  came  out  of  a 
cairn  at  the  neighbouring  Loch  of  Breckigo,  was  also  preserved  by 
the  late  Mr.  Innes,  of  Thrumster,  and  was  recently  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Macleay  at  the  discussion  on  the  Caithness  antiquities  at  the 
Anthropological  Society.  The  late  Mr.  Rhind,  who  explored  five  or 
six  sepulchral  cairns  on  the  summit  of  the  Yarrows  Hills,  obtained  a 
few  relics,  chiefly  portions  of  skeletons  and  fragments  of  pottery,  from 
them,  but  neither  weapons  nor  ornaments.  The  cairns  explored  by 
Mr.  Rhind  were  all  nearly  circular,  conical  heaps  of  stone  uncovered 
by  soil,  and  some  of  them  of  very  considerable  magnitude.  They 
were  all  of  one  type,  and  consisted  internally  of  a  low-lintelled 
passage,  widening  into  recesses  at  either  side,  and  leading  into  a 
central  chamber,  which  was  divided  into  compartments  by  monoliths 
projecting  from  the  walls.  The  whole  of  these  structures,  whatever 
mayhavebeen  their  original  intention,  had  been  used  assepulchres,  and 
used  for  three  different  modes  of  sepulture.  In  the  passages  were 
found  the  remains  of  bodies  extended  at  full  length.  In  the  compart- 
ments of  the  chambers,  which  generally  measured  no  more  than  4 
feet  between  the  monoliths,  were  bodies  which  had  been  buried  in  a 

VOL.  V.  12 


178  Sepulchral  Remains. 

crouching  position  or  doubled  up  with  the  feet  and  head  together 
and  the  thigh-bones  in  some  instances  broken.  In  the  corners  were 
urns  with  incinerated  bones.  Neither  weapons  nor  ornaments,  as  we 
have  said,  were  found  in  any  of  these  chambered  cairns.  But  the 
largest  conical  cairn  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  which  was  opened  three 
years  ago  by  J.  G.  T.  Sinclair,  Esq.,  of  Ulbster,  was  found  to  be  of 
a  different  structure  internally,  consisting  of  an  immensely  large  cist, 
with  (so  far  as  can  be  seen)  no  passage,  while  the  body  had  been  buried 
in  the  cist  among  a  quantity  of  sea-beach,  in  which  the  common  shore- 
shells  were  abundant.  A  bronze  spear-head  was  found  along  with  the 
bones. 

But  there  was  a  rarer  class  of  structures  on  a  hill  close  by,  which 
there  was  good  reason  to  believe  were  also  sepulchral.  There  are 
but  three  of  them  in  the  county,  so  far  as  we  are  aware — two  of  these 
being  on  the  Yarrows  Hills,  and  the  third  at  Campster,  beside  the 
largest  conical  cairn  in  Caithness. 

These  three  cairns  are  distinguished  from  all  others  by  their 
immense  length  in  proportion  to  their  height,  and  by  their  expand- 
ing at  both  ends  into  crescentic  or  semicircular  projections  or  horns. 
The  largest  of  these  singular  cairns,  at  Campster,  is  about  240  feet 
in  length,  and  those  at  Yarrows  are  respectively  215  and  190  feet 
long.  They  are  highest  at  the  eastern  end,  but  present  no  structure 
externally  but  that  of  a  long  mound  of  stones. 

These  two  long,  horned  cairns  at  Yarrows  have  now  been  explored, 
and  their  internal  structure  for  the  first  time  ascertained.  They  both 
contain  at  the  eastern  end  a  series  of  five  chambers  disposed  after 
much  the  same  plan  as  in  the  circular  cairns,  being  divided  into 
separate  compartments  by  large  monoliths  let  into  the  walls.  In  the 
large  cairn  the  last  chamber  formed  a  crypt,  or  cist,  covered  with  an 
immense  block,  about  9  or  10  feet  long,  and  weighing  apparently 
from  two  to  three  tons.  The  stones  on  which  it  is  supported  in  front, 
and  which  form  the  sides  of  the  small  low  doorway  into  the  recess 
which  it  covers,  are  9  inches  thick,  A  slab  closed  the  entrance  to 
this  place,  which  was  filled  to  the  top  with  stones  not  much  larger 
than  road-metal.  Nothing  was  found  in  it  but  a  bed  of  ashes  and 
burnt  bones.  The  same  layer  of  ashes,  wood,  charcoal,  and  burnt 
bones  covered  the  whole  floor  of  the  other  chambers  to  the  depth  of 
6  or  8  inches,  and  theonly  things  found  in  it  were  a  number  of 
flint  chips  and  some  fragments  of  pottery.  The  curious  horn-like 
projections  were  found  to  be  regularly  built  on  both  sides,  and  at  the 
termination  of  the  southern  one,  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  cairn,  there 
was  a  large  flat  slab  mounted  on  another  larger  slab  so  as  to  be  about 
the  height  of  a  table,  ^while  two  large  stones  set  on  edge  formed  a  sort 
of  passage  at  the  end  and  inner  side  of  it. 

The  exploration  of  the  other  (smaller)  long  cairn  disclosed  an 
almost  precisely  similar  general  plan,  differing,  however,  in  the  details 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  179 

of  its  structure.     The  horns  in  this  case  were  found  to  contain  re- 
gular passages  leading  into  the  entrance  to  the  cairn.     The  chambers 
were  the  same,  but  there  was  no  crypt  at  the  back.     The  most  in- 
teresting discovery  in  connection  with  this  cairn,   however,  was  a 
secondary  interment  in  one  of  the  compartments.     The  floor  was 
covered  with  the  usual  ashes  and  burnt  bones,  but  in  the  back  part 
.(where  the  crypt  was  in  the  other  cairn)  was  a  roughly  built  enclosure 
in  the  body  of  the  cairn  open  to  the  chamber,  and  in  it  lay  some 
portions  of  a  skeleton.     In  another  corner,  close  by  the  monolith,  a 
few  human  teeth  were  found  ;  and  between  the  two  monoliths  that 
formed  the  first  compartment  on  the  south  side  there  was  a  cist, 
almost  square,  about  3  feet  each  way,  formed  by  setting  a  stone  across 
between  the  monoliths,  and  so  shutting  off  a  square  space  from  the 
floor,  having  the  wall  of  the  chamber  on  one  side,  the  monoliths  for 
the  ends,  and  the  stone  between  them  for  the  outer  side.     A  stone 
was  put  in  at  one  end,  resting  against  the  monolith,  and  another  at 
the  back,  along  the  wall,  and  on  these  and  the  outer  stone  two  cover- 
ing-stones rested.     When  these  were  removed,  the  cist  was  full  of  a 
dark-coloured  clay,  and  on  its  being  carefully  searched,  an  urn,  finely 
ornamented  with  lines  of  markings,  apparently  produced  by  pressing 
a  pointed  instrument  against  the  soft  clay,  was  discovered.     It  was 
unfortunately  in  a  very  friable  condition,  cracked  into  small  pieces, 
and  so  wet  that  the  pieces  were  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
clay  in  which  they  were  embedded.     But  the  most  interesting  part  of 
the  discovery  remains.  At  the  other  end  of  the  cist  some  small,  round 
black  bodies,  not  so  large  as  small  peas,  were  noticed,  and  these  being 
examined,  they  turned  out  to  be  stone  beads !     The  clay  was  care- 
fully washed,  and  upwards  of  seventy  of  them  picked  out.     They  lay 
in  a  row  in  the  clay  before  it  was  disturbed,  just  as  they  would  have 
done  if  they  had  been  on  a  string  when  put  into  the  grave  along  with 
the  calcined  ashes  of  the  barbarian  beauty  that  wore  them.     They 
are  very  rudely  bored,  and  are  apparently  formed  of  the  lignite  or 
fossil  wood  so  common  in  the  oolitic  formation  of  Sutherlandshire. 
Pieces  of  this  lignite  may  be  found  in  the  Caithness  boulder-clay,  and 
the  story  of  the  ancient  tree  that  was  turned  into  stone,  when  the 
seas  that  rolled  over  these  hill-tops  swarmed  with  ammonites  and 
belemnites,  that  was  countless  ages  afterwards  torn  from  its  rocky  bed, 
and  borne  across  the  Ord  in  a  grating  ice-raft,  and  countless  ages 
afterwards  found  sticking  in  the  clay  by  a  prowling  barbarian,  and 
laboriously  fashioned  into  a  string  of  rude  beads,  for  the  adornment 
of  a   prehistoric  beauty,  has  surely  enough   of  romance   in   it   to 
interest  the  most  matter-of-fact  reader  in  these  matter-of-fact  times. — 
/o/m  d  Groat  Journal. 


12 — 2 


i8o  Sepulchral  Remains. 

[1864,  Part  II.,  pp.  714, 715.] 

Mr.  Samuel  Laing,  M.P.  (ex-Finance  Minister  of  India)  has 
recently  made  some  very  interesting  explorations  in  Caithness,  and 
has  thus  described  the  results  in  a  letter  to  the  Northern  Ensign : 

"  Two  remarkable  mounds  exist  on  the  sandy  links  of  Keiss,  near 
the  point  where  the  Wester-burn  enters  the  sea,  seven  miles  north  of 
Wick.  These  mounds  are  obviously  artificial,  and  are  strewed  over 
with  remains  of  shells,  broken  bones,  teeth  of  animals,  and  stones 
and  calcined  matter,  showing  the  action  of  fire.  Having  obtained 
the  kind  permission  of  the  proprietor,  Major  Macleay,  I  have  had 
some  excavations  made  with  the  intelligent  aid  of  Mr.  Sang,  the 
gardener  of  Keiss  Castle,  who  has  had  some  previous  experience  in 
opening  tumuli  in  the  south. 

"  Six  human  skeletons  have  been  found,  enclosed  in  rude  cists  of 
unhewn  stones,  having  the  appearance  of  great  antiquity.  One  of 
these  was  found  at  the  base  of  the  smaller  mound  in  Keiss  links  \ 
the  five  others  in  the  large  barrow,  where  from  every  appearance 
there  must  be  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  others. 

"The  remarkable  fact  about  these  skulls  is  that  they  show  a  type 
of  singularly  low  development,  being  of  small  capacity,  with  narrow 
receding  foreheads  and  projecting  jaws.  One  skull  in  particular 
shows  the  prognathous  type,  or  sloping  outwards  of  the  upper-jaw 
teeth  characteristic  of  the  negro  and  other  inferior  races,  in  a  degree 
which  seems  scarcely  human.  Combined  with  this  is  a  forehead 
receding  at  the  same  angle,  and  narrower  by  fully  half  an  inch  than 
the  narrowest  I  can  find  among  a  table  of  thirty-nine  skulls  of  ancient 
tumuli  given  by  Wilson  in  his  '  Prehistoric  Scotland.'  As  far  as  I 
can  judge,  without  the  means  of  very  accurate  measurement,  and 
with  nothing  to  compare  with  but  the  drawings  of  ancient  crania  on 
a  reduced  scale  in  Lyell's  work  on  the  '  Antiquity  of  Man,'  this  Keiss 
skull  in  its  facial  angle  and  vertical  depression  approaches  closely  to 
the  celebrated  Neanderthal  skull,  which  has  been  quoted  as  the 
closest  approximation  of  the  human  skull  to  that  of  the  quadrumana. 
It  is,  however,  of  a  different  type  from  that  skull,  the  occipital  region, 
instead  of  being  deficient,  being  extremely  projecting,  so  that  between 
the  extreme  lowness  and  narrowness  of  the  frontal  region  and  the 
posterior  projection,  if  a  vertical  line  were  drawn  over  the  skull  from 
ear  to  ear,  three-fourths  or  more  of  the  total  volume  of  the  brain 
would  be  found  behind  the  line. 

"The  skeletons  generally  indicated  men  of  short  stature,  from 
5  feet  to  5  feet  4  inches  in  height.  They  were  buried  at  full  length, 
or  nearly  so,  but  without  regard  to  position,  lying  in  some  cases  on 
the  back,  in  others  on  the  face,  or  sideways,  and  with  their  heads  to 
different  points  of  the  compass.  The  peculiar  type  of  these  crania 
adds  to  the  interest  of  the  question  of  their  antiquity.  Unfortunately 
no  trace  can  be  found  of  any  implement  or  ornament  having  been 


Antiqtiities  in  Scotland.  i8i 

interred  with  them.  But  the  shelly  mounds,  with  which  they  are 
evidently  associated,  give  evidence  of  their  having  belonged  to  the 
stone  period. 

"  Excavations  have  disclosed  part  of  a  subterranean  dwelling,  or 
place  of  sacrifice,  built  like  the  Picts'  houses,  with  narrow  passages 
and  some  small  chambers,  walled,  paved,  and  roofed  over,  at  a  great 
expense  of  labour,  with  large  unhewn  stones,  brought  from  the  beach 
at  some  distance.  In  these  were  numerous  shells,  charred  bones, 
and  burnt  matter,  and  among  these  debris  were  found  two  stone 
implements,  one  a  smooth  oval  sandstone  block,  about  6  inches  in 
diameter,  round  which  a  deep  groove  had  been  cut,  giving  it  exactly 
the  appearance  of  a  ship's  block  cut  in  two.  The  other  was  a  small 
round  stone,  pierced  with  a  hole,  of  the  sort  well  known  to  anti- 
quaries as  'whorls.'  Another  'whorl'  was  found  of  bone,  made  of 
the  ball  of  the  femur  of  some  animal;  also  a  large  pin  and  a  skewer 
or  bodkin  made  of  bone.  One  or  two  chalk  flints  were  found,  which 
had  some  appearance  of  having  been  artificially  chipped  and  thrown 
aside  as  failures,  but  no  trace  of  any  flint  weapon. 

"  These,  however,  with  the  total  absence  of  any  mark  of  tools  on 
the  stones  or  on  the  graves  and  buildings,  their  identity  in  type  with 
other  tumuli  and  barrows,  in  which  stone  and  flint  weapons  have  been 
discovered,  and  the  total  want  of  any  trace  of  pottery  or  earthenware, 
which  must  have  mixed  largely  with  the  refuse-heaps  of  any  people 
acquainted  with  their  use,  will  probably  suffice  to  satisfy  us  that  the 
mounds,  with  their  accompanying  remains,  are  really  of  the  stone 
period. 

"The  limpet  and  periwinkle  have  evidently  furnished  the  staple 
article  of  food ;  but  mixed  with  these  are  numerous  fragments  of 
teeth  and  bones,  among  which  I  believe  I  can  identify  the  ox,  the 
horse,  the  hog,  the  sheep,  the  deer,  the  roe,  and  the  rabbit ;  but 
whether  of  the  domestic  or  wild  species,  will  require  the  future 
determination  of  some  skilful  comparative  anatomist.  There  are 
also  bones  of  birds,  several  species  of  fish,  large  and  small,  and  a  few 
remains  of  the  crab,  cockle,  and  mussel. 

"  I  may  add  that  I  have  seen  a  mound  of  apparently  the  same 
character  covered  with  the  same  shell  and  teeth  on  the  shore  of  the 
little  sandy  bay  immediately  to  the  west  of  Duncansbay  Head,  and  I 
doubt  not  there  are  many  more  in  the  county." 

The  Knowe  of  Saverough. 

[1862,  Part  II., pp.  601-604.] 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  now  forward  to  you  an  account 
of  my  recent  discoveries  at  the  "  Knowe  of  Saverough,"  in  Orkney. 

I  am,  etc.  James  Farrer. 

The  Knowe  is  close  to  the  sea,  and  only  a  few  feet  above  high- 
water  mark.     It  is  on  the  property  of  the  Earl  of  Zetland,  and  about 


1 82  Septdchral  Remains. 

half  a  mile  from  the  small  "town"  of  Birsay,  in  the  west  mainland  of 
Orkney,  Small  fragments  of  bone  have,  it  is  said,  occasionally  been 
observed  protruding  from  the  ground,  and  some  years  ago  an  iron  or 
bronze  spear-head  was  picked  up  by  a  child  on  the  top  of  the  Knowe. 
It  is  stated  that  the  exact  counterpart  of  this  weapon  was  found 
many  years  previously  sticking  in  a  skull  about  a  mile  to  the  north- 
west of  the  Knowe.  The  body  had  been  interred  near  the  beach, 
and  was  only  discovered  in  consequence  of  part  of  the  land  being 
washed  away  by  the  sea.  It  is  not  easy  to  define  the  original  limits 
of  the  Knowe,  since  its  shape  is  liable  to  alteration  from  the  frequent 
shifting  of  the  sand.  The  diameter  may  perhaps  be  estimated  at 
1 68  feet,  and  its  greatest  height  at  from  14  to  16  feet.  The  excava- 
tions, which  were  commenced  on  July  21,  1862,  resulted  in  the 
discovery  of  many  human  skeletons  more  or  less  perfect,  and  at 
depths  below  the  present  surface,  varying  from  2  to  8  or  10  feet. 
Those  which  were  nearest  to  the  top  of  the  Knowe  were  the  most 
decayed ;  but  owing  to  the  shifting  of  the  sand,  previously  alluded 
to,  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  might  have  been  the  depths  of  the 
graves  when  the  bodies  were  interred.  Not  a  vestige  of  any  clothing 
was  discovered.  All  the  bodies  had  been  laid  in  kists,  but  in  every 
instance  these  were  broken,  owing  probably  to  the  weight  of  super- 
incumbent sand  during  a  long  period  of  time.  The  sand  was  only 
slightly  discoloured,  but  in  some  instances  the  decomposed  fibrous 
roots  of  grasses  were  found  amongst  the  bones  of  the  skeletons — a 
circumstance  justifying  the  inference  that  those  kists  had  been 
originally  constructed  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  that  the 
sand  had  afterwards  been  piled  up  over  them.  The  heads  of  all  the 
skeletons  faced  the  north-west,  with  exception  of  two,  Nos.  8  and  10, 
which  were  turned  to  the  north.  .  There  were  flagstones  underneath 
the  bodies  only  in  a  few  instances.  The  various  skeletons  are  num- 
bered in  this  description  according  to  the  order  in  which  they  were 
found. 

No.  I.  The  head  slightly  inclined,  and  mouth  open,  the  body  laid 
flat,  with  the  arms  by  its  side.  The  left  hand  rested  on  a  small 
flat  stone.  The  vertebrae  of  the  back  appeared  to  be  forced  up  be- 
tween the  ribs,  but  the  body  did  not  appear  to  have  been  disturbed 
since  its  original  interment.  Sand  and  the  decayed  roots  of  grasses 
filled  up  the  interstices  between  the  ribs. 

No.  2.  This  skull  (which  is  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  at  Edinburgh)  has  a  circular  orifice  at  the  back  of  the 
head,  as  if  from  a  wound  by  an  arrow  or  some  pointed  instrument. 
At  the  head  of  the  skeleton  No.  2,  on  the  right,  was  a  clay-baked 
urn,  filled  up  with  sand.  It  was  5  inches  high,  5^  inches  in  diameter, 
16  inches  in  circumference  at  the  top,  and  3^  inches  in  diameter  at 
the  bottom.  It  is  now  with  the  skull  in  the  Museum  at  Edinburgh. 
No.  2  is  the  skull  of  a  male  of  about  thirty-five  years.     It  is  remark- 


J 
Antiquities  in  Scotland.  iS 


able  for  its  small  size  and  very  short  round  form,  being  eminently 
brachycephalic.  The  face  is  short  and  very  broad ;  the  lower  jaw 
large,  broad,  and  angular,  and  has  the  peculiarity  of  a  disproportion- 
ately small  chin.     The  teeth  are  flatly  eroded,  as  in  No.  8. 

No.  3.  This  skull  was  above  No.  2.  No  teeth  were  found.  It 
was  less  well  preserved  than  No.  2,  and  the  size  of  the  skeleton  could 
not  be  ascertained. 

No.  4  was  also  much  decayed.  It  was  deposited  above,  and  not 
far  from  No.  i. 

No.  5.  Only  some  fragments  of  skull  and  bones. 

No.  6.  The  legs  of  this  skeleton  were  uppermost,  and  within  2  feet 
of  the  surface ;  they  were  doubled  up  over  the  ribs.  A  large  stone 
was  laid  on  the  skeleton,  the  skull  of  which  w^as  broken  in  removing. 
It  was  not  far  from  No.  2.  The  kist-stones  were  displaced,  and  the 
body  appeared  to  have  been  hastily  interred. 

No.  7.  Remains  of  two  bodies,  both  very  near  the  surface.  They 
were  much  decayed ;  the  bones  were  intermixed,  and  these  also 
appeared  to  have  been  interred  in  a  very  hurried  manner.  It  is 
possible  that  much  of  the  sand  originally  covering  these  graves  has 
been  blown  away. 

No.  8.  This  skeleton  was  laid  flat,  and  was  the  most  perfect  of 
any  that  were  found  ;  the  feet  only  were  missing. 

No.  9.  Only  fragments  of  jaw-bone,  a  little  above  No.  7  ;  and  it  is 
possible  that  these  fragments  may  have  belonged  to  that  skeleton.* 

No.  10.  Skull  and  bones  :  one  end  of  the  cover-stone  of  the  kist 
had  fallen  on  to  the  head. 

No.  II.  The  head  of  this  skeleton  could  not  be  found,  nor  any 
part  of  the  body  below  the  knees. 

Dr.  Thurnam,  the  well-known  craniologist,  to  whom  I  at  once  for- 
warded the  skulls  for  examination,  has  kindly  furnished  me  with  the 
following  information  : 

"  The  skulls  Nos.  i,  8,  and  10  are  those  of  males.  They  are  well 
developed,  and  more  or  less  of  brachycephalic  type.  The  two  former 
are  very  fine  specimens,  with  almost  every  tooth,  and  the  large  and 
prominent  nasal  bones  unbroken.  No.  i  is  of  large  size.  The  two, 
with  individual  differences,  present  considerable  similarity  to  the 
Orcadian  skull  figured  in  the  '  Crania  Britannica,'  pi.  21.  Nos.  3,  4, 
and  7  are  doubtless  the  skulls  of  females.  They  are  all  of  the  low, 
narrow,  and  elongate  form,  called  kumbecephalic  by  Professor  D. 
Wilson.  No.  4  is  that  of  a  young  woman  ;  No.  7  is  of  middle  age ; 
and  No.  3  that  of  a  woman  far  advanced  in  life,  the  lower  jaw  pre- 
senting doubtful  traces  of  the  presence  of  a  solitary  tooth.  Two  of 
the  male  skulls  (Nos.  i  and  10)  are  those  of  men  of  middle  age,  the 
other  (No.  8)  that  of  a  young  man  of  about  thirty  years.  None  of 
the  '  wisdom  teeth '  have  been  developed  in  the  skull  No.  i,  and 
*  Dr.  Thurnam  is  of  opinion  that  these  fragments  belong  to  No.  4. 


184  Septilchral  Remains. 

one  of  these  teeth  is  absent  in  No.  8.  The  crowns  of  the  teeth 
generally  are  much  worn,  as  if  from  the  use  of  coarse  food ;  the 
attrition  is  flat,  and  moderate  in  extent  in  No.  8,  but  much  more 
advanced  in  No.  i,  in  which  the  surfaces  of  the  teeth  are  oblique  and 
jagged,  as  if  from  gnawing  roots  or  tearing  flesh  from  bones,  as  is 
common  in  uncivilized  hunting  tribes.  There  can  be  no  hesitation 
in  referring  these  series  of  skulls  to  the  ancient  Celtic  inhabitants  of 
Orkney,  and  as  little  doubt  that  they  belong  to  a  period  prior  to  the 
Scandinavian  settlements  in  those  islands." 

The  further  excavation  of  the  Knowe  revealed  a  small  kist  con- 
taining the  leg-bones  and  some  of  the  ribs  of  a  child  :  this  kist  was 
at  least  twelve  feet  from  any  of  those  previously  discovered.  At  this 
point,  the  existence  of  a  large  building  at  some  remote  period  became 
apparent.  Many  of  the  stones  were  water-worn,  and  had  evidently 
been  taken  from  the  sea-shore ;  others,  again,  had  been  quarried  : 
the  thickness  of  the  walls  could  not  be  ascertained  owing  to  the 
ruined  state  of  the  Brough,  but  the  discovery  of  an  ancient  "  comb," 
a  deer's-horn  handle  of  some  instrument  retaining  yet  the  marks  of 
iron  tacks  or  nails,  some  bones  of  a  whale,  quernes,  bone  pins,  etc., 
justifies  the  conclusion  that  this  part  of  the  Knowe  of  Saverough 
must  have  been  at  some  time  the  site  of  a  Brough.  A  few  feet  further 
in,  two  small  kists  were  found  one  above  the  other,  but  the  upper  one 
was  too  much  broken  to  admit  of  its  dimensions  being  taken.  It 
was  nearly  filled  with  sand,  and  contained  a  few  small  pieces  of  bone. 
The  lower  kist  was  more  perfect,  but  very  few  bones  remained.  Its 
dimensions  were  3  ft.  10  in.  in  length,  i  ft.  9  in.  in  width,  and  1  ft. 
8  in.  deep  ;  it  was  7  ft.  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  measuring 
from  the  top  of  the  kist.  Close  to  these  kists,  and  protected  by  large 
stones  placed  in  the  form  of  a  kist,  was  a  large  bell  composed  of 
iron,  coated  with  bronze,  riveted  on  one  side :  the  loop  for  the 
hammer  or  clapper  still  remains.  It  rested  on  the  handle,  and  the 
mouth  was  covered  with  a  flat  stone.  The  length,  including  the 
handle,  is  14I  in.,  about  27  in.  in  circumference  at  the  top,  and  7 
by  9  in.  across  the  mouth.  It  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  earliest 
Christian  times.  Professor  Wilson,  in  his  "  Pre-Historic  Annals  of 
Scotland,"  p.  660,  gives  a  drawing  of  one  precisely  similar  in  character, 
which  he  supposes  to  belong  to  the  fourth  century,  when  St.  Ninian, 
the  first  Catholic  Bishop  in  Orkney,  was  sent  by  Siricius,  Pope  of 
Rome,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen  tribes  of  North  Britain. 
The  bell,  which  is  much  corroded,  had  evidently  been  deposited 
many  centuries  ago.  The  stones  forming  the  sides  of  the  kist  were 
almost  rotten  with  age,  and  a  portion  of  one  of  them  adheres  firmly 
to  one  side  of  the  bell.  I  do  not,  of  course,  venture  to  assign  any 
fixed  period  for  the  construction  of  the  Brough  in  which  these  relics 
of  antiquity  have  been  found  ;  it  seems  not  improbable  that  it  may 
have  been  used  as  a  place  of  burial  by  some  of  the  tribes  inhabiting 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  185 

the  islands,  long  after  it  became  a  ruin.  The  fact  that  iron  was  not 
entirely  unknown  to  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Brough  forbids 
the  assumption  that  they  lived  in  the  very  early  part  of  the  stone 
period,  though  it  may  not  be  unreasonable  to  conclude  that  the  use 
of  metallic  tools  was  very  little  known  to  them.  The  destruction  or 
desertion  therefore  of  the  Brough  probably  occurred  towards  the 
close  of  the  stone  and  the  commencement  of  the  iron  period.  The 
bell,  of  course,  belongs  to  more  recent  times,  and  can  have  had  no 
connection  with  the  heathen  race  who  inhabited  the  islands  previous 
to  the  Christian  era,  and  of  whose  interment  in  the  Knowe  of 
Saverough  the  depositors  of  this  ecclesiastical  relic  were  doubtless 
entirely  ignorant,  since  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  an  object  of 
such  veneration  would  be  concealed  in  a  Pagan  burial-place.  The 
practice  in  early  Christian  times  of  interring  bodies  with  the  face  to  the 
east  is  conclusive  against  the  idea  that  these  people  were  converts  to 
Christianity.  None  of  the  bodies  occupied  the  position  justifying 
such  a  supposition.  I  think,  then,  the  following  conclusions  may  not 
unfairly  be  arrived  at : — That  at  a  remote  period  a  large  Brough,  or 
inhabited  building,  occupied  part  of  the  hill  now  known  as  the 
Knowe  of  Saverough  ;  that  long  after  its  destruction  it  was  used  as  a 
place  of  interment  by  the  Celtic  inhabitants  of  Orkney ;  that  there  is 
no  evidence  of  the  time  at  which  the  interments  took  place,  beyond 
the  fact  that  it  must  have  been  before  the  Christian  era  ;  and  that 
the  ruined  Brough  was  selected  as  a  place  of  concealment  for  the 
bell  during  perhaps  times  of  persecution,  with  a  view  to  its  removal 
at  the  proper  time  to  a  place  of  greater  security. 

BuRRAY,  Orkney. 
[1863,  Part  I.,p.a,i2.\ 

The  Orkney  Herald r cities  a  recent  discovery  which  in  some  points 
is  of  extreme  interest,  if  the  facts  are  correctly  stated.  We  reprint  it, 
with  the  view  of  obtaining  information  on  the  subject :  "  A  corre- 
spondent in  Burray  has  forwarded  us  particulars  regarding  the  opening 
up  of  a  tumulus  in  Burray,  and  the  discovery  of  a  large  number  of 
human  skeletons.  It  appears  that  labourers  had  been  employed  in 
trenching  a  piece  of  ground  on  the  North  Field  farm,  of  which  Mr. 
Andrew  Kennedy  is  the  present  tenant.  After  digging  over  a  few 
yards  the  labourers  laid  bare  a  strong-built  stone  wall,  and,  con- 
tinuing their  operations,  they  found  it  was  of  circular  formation. 
They  stumbled  upon  a  doorway  similar  to  that  of  the  Maeshowe 
tumulus,  which  led  to  the  inside  of  the  building  through  a  narrow 
passage.  At  the  termination  of  this  passage  they  came  upon  a  small 
compartment,  about  4I  feet  square,  which  contained  ten  human 
skeletons,  and  the  skulls  of  some  three  or  four  dogs.  Continuing 
their  explorations,  the  labourers  found  in  all  seven  compartments  of 
small  dimensions,  each  separated  from  the  other  by  a  large  flagstone 


1 86  Sepidchral  Rei7iams. 

standing  on  end,  and  each  containing  the  skeletons  of  human  beings 
and  dogs.  There  were  also  a  number  of  fish-bones  of  a  very  small 
size.  The  bones  of  the  human  skeletons  were  extremely  large.  One 
skull  measured  f  inch  in  thickness,  and  another  \  inch.  The  features 
appeared  to  have  been  of  the  Esquimaux  type,  short  and  broad.  The 
remains  must  have  been  huddled  together  when  entombed,  as  none 
of  the  compartments  in  the  catacomb  were  above  \\  f'^^t  in  length. 
Twenty-seven  skulls  in  all  were  counted,  and,  considering  the  centuries 
that  have  elapsed  since  they  were  laid  in  that  lonely  sepulchre  by  the 
sea,  they  were  all  in  a  remarkably  fine  state  of  preservation." 

NoRRiES  Law. 
[1864,  Fart  II.,  p.  404.] 

The  tumulus  on  Norries  Law,  on  the  estate  of  Largo,  has  been  an 
object  of  especial  interest  to  archaeologists  since  the  discovery  of  some 
curious  silver  relics  there  more  than  forty  years  ago.  A  desire  having 
been  expressed  for  permission  to  ascertain  the  plan  of  construction 
of  the  mound,  and  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  it,  the  pro- 
prietrix,  Mrs.  Dundas  Durham,  not  only  granted  her  consent,  but 
executed  the  excavations  by  her  own  workmen,  under  the  eye  of  Mr. 
Howie,  of  Largo,  who  has  been  employed  in  similar  researches  at  St. 
Andrews  and  elsewhere.  The  digging  took  place  on  August  16, 
when,  besides  a  party  from  Largo  House,  there  were  present  Admiral 
Bethune  of  Balfour,  Mr.  Cosmo  Innes,  Mr.  Joseph  Robertson,  and 
Mr.  John  Stuart.  From  the  excavations,  it  appeared  that  a  circular 
foundation  of  stones  had  been  placed  at  the  outside,  with  appear- 
ances of  a  lesser  one  within.  A  cairn  seemed  to  have  been  raised  on 
the  latter,  many  of  the  stones  of  which  bore  marks  of  fire.  A  small 
triangular  cist,  containing  incinerated  human  bones,  was  found  in  the 
foundations  of  the  external  wall,  and  at  a  spot  outside  of  this  an  urn 
appeared,  surrounded  by  bits  of  calcined  wood.  The  whole  structure 
seemed  to  have  been  surrounded  by  a  ditch  and  earthen  rampart. 
The  silver  relics  were  discovered  in  a  sandhill  on  the  west  side  of 
Norries  Law.  They  are  in  every  way  of  great  interest  and  importance, 
as  on  some  of  them  the  mysterious  symbols  peculiar  to  the  sculptured 
stones  of  Scotland  are  engraved,  thus  affording  a  connecting  link 
between  two  different  classes  of  our  early  remains.  With  the  view  of 
making  these  relics  more  accessible  and  available,  Mrs.  Durham  has 
handsomely  presented  them  to  the  National  Museum  of  Antiquities. 
— Scotsman. 

Discovery  of  Ancient  Graves  at  Alvah,  Banffshire. 

[1862,  Part  I.,  p.  420.] 

A  considerable  number  of  ancient  graves  has  recently  been  dis- 
covered in  the  parish  of  Alvah,  a  place  abounding  in  antiquities. 
The  ground  is  a  stubble  field,  on  the  farm  of  Auchenbadie,  occupied 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  187 


by  Mr.  Duncan,  and  lies  on  the  hillside,  close  to  the  river  Deveron. 
The  spot  has  till  now  been  considered  a  stony  knoll  on  the  upper 
end  of  the  field,  with  scarcely  as  much  mould  on  it  as  forms  a  fur  for 
the  plough  ;  and  to  the  plough  we  are  indebted  for  the  present  dis- 
covery. 

The  field  was  being  ploughed,  when  at  the  place  referred  to  the 
implement  was  much  obstructed  by  stones.  On  beginning  to  clear 
these  away,  the  men  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  stones  were  quite 
loose  and  easily  raised.  They  were  all  carefully  laid  on  their  flattest 
and  broadest  sides,  layer  above  layer,  and  between  the  nethermost 
layers  was  a  quantity  of  wood-ashes  and  calcined  bones.  The  stones 
were  unsculptured,  and  no  urns  or  implements  of  any  kind  were 
found. 

The  space  occupied  by  these  graves  measures  about  85  paces  in 
circumference ;  it  is  oblong  in  shape,  stretching  north-east  and  south- 
west. The  stones  are  of  but  small  dimensions,  few  of  them  measuring 
more  than  2-i-  feet  long  by  about  i  foot  broad,  while  some  of  them 
are  scarcely  i  foot  in  length  by  9  inches  broad.  They  are  chiefly 
slaty,  and  of  greenish  and  greyish  colour.  Many  of  them  bear  the 
marks  of  fire,  and  the  ashes  and  calcined  bones  adhere  to  them.  The 
mould  found  among  them  was  of  various  colours,  and  differed  greatly 
from  that  on  the  surrounding  surface  of  the  field.  There  were  no 
calcined  bones  under  some  of  the  stones  ;  but  where  this  was  the 
case,  there  was  mould  of  considerable  depth  under  them.  In  some 
places  the  graves  were  a  few  feet  apart  from  each  other,  and  some  of 
them  were  covered  with,  or  had  a  greater  number  of  stones  belonging 
to  them  than  others.  In  one  place,  where  the  graves  were  a  few  feet 
apart,  there  was  a  layer  of  moss  below  a  layer  of  yellow  clay,  and 
above  a  layer  of  white  marl,  which  rested  on  a  yellowish  sand  bottom. 
About  thirty  or  forty  cart-loads  of  stones  have  been  disinterred ;  but 
twice  that  number  are  supposed  to  be  yet  underground,  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  many  more  will  be  removed  at  this  time.  The  rudeness 
of  the  stones,  and  the  absence  of  urns,  would  indicate  the  graves  to 
be  of  very  ancient  date. 

About  twelve  years  ago  a  circle  of  broad  stones,  standing  on  their 
edges,  and  having  an  opening  to  the  east,  was  discovered  in  the 
adjacent  field,  and  at  the  distance  of  about  200  yards  from  the  site 
of  the  present  discovery.  This  circle  was  nearly  4  feet  in  diameter, 
was  causewayed  with  small,  smooth,  rounded  stones,  and  contained 
some  ashes  and  calcined  bones. 

On  the  same  farm  on  which  the  present  discovery  has  been  made, 
there  is  a  large  crescent-shaped  artificial  mound,  nearly  50  feet  high, 
called  the  Ha'  Hill — a  name  which  would  indicate  that  it  had  once 
been  crowned  with  a  castle.  Some  years  ago  Mr.  Morison,  the 
proprietor,  had  a  deep  trench  cut  through  this  mound,  but  no  dis- 
coveries were  made.     Subsequently,  however,  Mr.  Duncan,  whilst 


1 88  Sepulchral  Remains. 

removing  earth  from  it,  came  upon  some  small  millstones  (querns 
rather),  and  also  dug  up  ashes  and  calcined  bones  at  a  depth  of  5  to 
6  feet  from  the  surface. — Baiiffshire  Joiirnal. 

Ancient  Urns  Discovered. 

[1816,  Part  II.,  p.  300.] 

A  very  curious  discovery  has  lately  been  made  in  one  of  the 
Northern  Islands  of  Zetland  called  Uyea  (lying  near  the  Island  of 
Unst).  The  following  extract  of  a  letter  just  received  from  a  friend 
on  the  spot,  conveys  all  the  information  which  I  yet  possess  on  the 
subject : 

"  For  some  time  past  the  proprietor  of  Uyea,  Mr.  Thomas  Leisk, 
has  had  men  employed  in  erecting  a  dyke  in  the  island  ;  who,  in 
quarrying  stones  on  the  top  of  a  small  conical  hill  called  the  Wart, 
found  a  great  quantity  of  loose  stones  collected  together  in  a  heap ; 
upon  removing  the  uppermost  of  them,  a  mound  of  earth  intermixed 
with  small  stones  appeared,  which  the  men  began  to  dig  up,  when, 
to  their  great  surprise,  they  discovered  a  great  number  of  stone  urns, 
containing  the  ashes  of  the  dead.  They  were  arranged  in  regular 
order,  surrounded  with  large  stones  to  separate  them  from  each  other, 
and  of  different  shapes  and  sizes  ;  some  round,  others  oval,  none  larger 
than  a  common  basin.  I  had  the  curiosity  to  go  to  the  place,  and  took 
out  one  myself,  and  examined  its  contents.  In  the  bottom,  the  small 
pieces  of  unconsumed  bones  were  carefully  laid;  next  to  them  the 
human  dust ;  above  it,  a  covering  of  clay,  and  over  all  a  large  stone. 
If  you  esteem  it  a  curiosity,  I  have  kept  one  for  you." 

I  have  written  to  request  a  full  and  exact  account  of  the  circum- 
stance, accompanied  with  one  of  the  urns,  which,  when  I  receive  it,  shall 
be  cheerfully  communicated  to  you  ;  with  some  observations  on  the 
remains  of  antiquity  still  extant  in  the  Zetland  Islands,  and  several 
circumstances  connected  therewith. 

A  Northern  Islander. 

Aberdeenshire. 
[1862,  Part  I.,  p.  256.] 

In  one  of  the  high-lying  fields  on  the  farm  of  Burreldales, 
Fyvie,  Aberdeenshire,  possessed  by  Mr.  Adam  Nichol,  is  one  of  those 
large  stones  which  are  usually  understood  to  mark  places  of  worship 
or  sepulture  in  the  early  ages  of  our  country's  history.  This  stone 
has  evidently  been  conveyed  from  the  rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  Mr, 
Nichol's  farm-steading,  and,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  [its  movers] 
must  have  had  "  uphill  "  work  ere  they  conveyed  a  stone  upwards  of 
two  tons  weight  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  For  several  yards  around 
the  stone,  the  soil  has  hitherto  remained  in  its  natural  state  ;  but,  lying 
as  it  does  in  the  heart  of  a  cultivated  field,  Mr.  Nichol  recently  re- 
solved to  raise  the  stone  on  edge,  and  trench  the  hillock  around. 


Antiqzdties  in  Scotland.  189 

During  this  process,  an  immense  number  of  small  stones  have  been 
turned  up,  which  no  doubt  formed  the  outer  and  inner  circle — as, 
indeed,  these  could  be  distinctly  traced,  although  there  had  been 
little  skill  in  masonry  displayed  when  formed.  A  neatly  built  grave 
was  disclosed  by  the  removal  of  a  large  flag-stone.  Underneath  was 
a  smaller  stone,  fitting  in  to  the  mouth  of  the  grave,  and  concealing 
an  urn  containing  a  quantity  of  bones.  Then  came  another  stone, 
on  removing  which  there  was  found  another  urn  with  bones.  Both 
urns  were  more  or  less  broken.  A  few  yards  from  the  above,  another 
grave,  containing  an  urn  and  some  bones,  was  also  found,  and  in 
this  grave  there  was  a  knife-shaped  piece  of  bronze.  A  little  way  off 
was  found  a  large  deposit  of  black  material,  with  layer  upon  layer  of 
bones  intermixed,  to  a  depth  of  several  feet.  Indeed,  judging  from 
the  large  amount  of  remains,  the  whole  place  around  the  stone  seems 
to  have  been  a  burial-place  of  note.  The  old  highway  to  Aberdeen, 
or  "  King's  Road,"  passes  through  between  the  two  eminences  de- 
scribed. — Bajiff shire  Joiir?ial. 

Beith. 
[1864,  Part  IL,p.  157.] 

About  forty  years  ago  there  was  a  cairn  of  stones  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cuff  Hill,  on  the  estate  of  Hessil  Head,  in  the  parish  of  Beith. 
At  that  time  the  late  Dr.  Patrick,  who  had  just  bought  that  estate, 
ordered  the  removal  of  the  cairn ;  but  after  a  few  cart-loads  had  been 
removed,  two  tombs  of  a  very  coarse  structure  were  discovered.  Dr. 
Patrick  then  stopped  the  removal,  and  had  the  cairn  enclosed  and 
planted.  Nothing  more  was  done  to  it  until  recently,  when  some 
men  were  removing  a  few  of  the  stones  for  the  purpose  of 
making  caves  for  the  protection  of  foxes.  They  came  upon  a  tomb 
larger,  and  of  a  finer  structure  than  the  former.  This  tomb  is  built 
of  limestone  slabs,  of  the  same  stone  as  wrought  at  present  at  Over- 
toun  quarry.  The  slabs,  one  on  each  side,  measure  8  feet  5  inches  in 
length,  by  3  feet  5  inches  in  breadth,  and  there  appears  to  have  been 
an  attempt  to  polish  one  of  them.  The  tomb  lies  due  north-east  by 
east,  and  measures  8  feet  5  inches  in  length,  3  feet  5  inches  in  depth, 
2  feet  5  inches  wide  at  the  north-east  end,  and  3  feet  9  inches  at 
south-west  end.  All  the  tombs  lie  in  the  same  direction,  in  a  Hne 
with  the  rising  sun,  at  the  summer  solstice.  When  the  tomb  was 
opened  a  number  of  bones  were  found,  which  proved  to  be  the 
humerus  and  ulna  of  the  right  arm,  the  femur,  fibula,  and  tibia  of  the 
right  leg,  and  a  jaw-bone — all  human  remains.  There  were  two 
fibulae  of  the  right  leg,  proving  that  two  bodies  at  least  were  interred 
in  the  tomb.  From  the  size  of  the  bones,  they  are  supposed  to  have 
belonged  to  stout-made  men,  of  about  5  feet  8  inches  in  height ;  and 
from  the  structure  and  position  of  the  tomb,  being  in  the  centre  of 
the  tumulus,  the  conclusion  is  evident  that  the  individuals  were 
chiefs.     The  tumulus  is  about  60  yards  in  circumference  and  10  feet 


IQO  Sepzilchral  Remains. 

high,  and  is  composed  of  loose  stones  thrown  upon  the  top  of  the 
tombs. 

DUNOLLY,    ArGYLESHIRE. 
[1828,  Part  I.,  p.  65.] 

There  has  been  lately  discovered  at  Dunolly,  in  Argyleshire,  the 
seat  of  Captain  M'Dougall,  R.N.,  an  ancient  Highland  cemetery, 
immediately  under  the  rock  upon  which  the  ruins  of  the  castle  stand. 
In  the  centre  of  this  charnel-house  was  a  large  flag-stone,  covering  an 
opening  not  unlike  a  modern  grave  ;  but  nothing  was  found  in  it  to 
disclose  the  purpose  for  which  it  had  been  reserved.  Among  the 
ashes  in  the  cave  were  the  bones  of  various  animals,  pieces  of  iron, 
remains  of  broadswords,  a  few  defaced  coins,  and  other  vestiges  of 
the  cunning  hand  of  man.  There  is  no  existing  tradition  of  the  cave, 
or  of  the  use  to  which  it  had  been  dedicated. 

Cabrach,  Banffshire. 
[1862,  Part  II.,  p.  405.] 

About  the  end  of  August  last,  while  a  labourer  was  digging  sand 
in  a  clover-field  on  the  farm  at  Forteath,  Cabrach,  he  came  upon  a 
stone  cofifin.     This  field,  which  is  situated  upon  the  north  side  of  the 
river   Deveron,  would  appear  to  have  been  in  early  days  a  grave- 
yard, for,  during  the  past  forty  years,  ten  or  twelve  graves  have  been 
opened  in  various  parts.     The  greater  part  of  these  graves  have  been 
found  by  the  plough  laying  bare  the  top  of  the  cists ;  but  it  is  now 
seen  that  numbers  of  graves  have  been  dug  very  deep,  so  that  the 
plough  will  not  reach  them,  the  top  of  the  cists  being  from  2  to  3  feet 
below  the  surface.     The  last  two  found  were  accidentally  laid  open 
in  digging  for  sand,  and  were  only  a  few  feet  apart  from  each  other. 
In  the  present  instance  the  stone  coffin  is  a  parallelogram,  measuring 
3  feet  1 1  inches  by  2  feet  4  inches.     The  sides  and  ends  are  formed 
of  flags  from  4  to  5  inches  thick,  of  green  stone,  taken  from  the 
summit  of  the  Keilmen's  Hill,  distant  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile. 
The  lid,  or  covering,  measures  4  feet  10  inches  by  3  feet  6  inches, 
and  is  from  8  to  9  inches  thick.     The  lid  is  a  species  of  basalt,  from 
a   rock   that  overhangs   the   river   upon    the  opposite  side,  distant 
about  300  yards,  with  a  dip  of  upwards  of  80  feet.     The  coffin  lies 
almost  due  east  and  west.     In  general,  the  graves  found  at  Cabrach 
have  had  the  bottoms  smoothly  causewayed  with  round  pebbles  from 
the  river ;  but  in  this  one  the  bottom  is  laid  wdth  a  flag.     The  body 
had  been  laid  in  the  cist  with  the  head  towards  the  east,  resting  upon 
a  flag-stone  for  a  pillow,  about  5  inches  in  diameter,  with  an  elevation 
towards  the  north,  and  the  body  was  compressed  into  the  grave  in  a 
stooping  position.     An  urn,  which  was  found  placed  upon  the  breast, 
when  exposed  to  the  air,  went  to  fragments.  The  only  thing  observed 
within  it  was  a  piece  of  flint ;  it  was  not  an  arrow-head,  nor  any  part 
of  a  warlike  instrument.     There  was  a  considerable  quantity  of  char- 


Antiquities  in  Scotland.  191 

coal  found  in  the  grave,  also  below  the  flag  at  the  bottom.  The 
body  was  all  decomposed,  except  a  part  of  the  skull  and  the  leg  and 
thigh-bones,  which  were  in  tolerable  preservation.  —  Banffshire 
Journal. 

Berwick. 

[1831,  Part  I.,  p.  163.] 

A  plough  in  a  field  on  the  Blackadder  estate,  Berwickshire,  came 
in  contact  with  a  large  stone,  which,  on  being  displaced,  proved  to 
be  the  lid  or  covering  of  a  well-constructed  stone  coffin,  containing  a 
quantity  of  earth  and  human  bones.  On  removing  the  contents 
with  a  spade,  the  fragments  of  an  urn  were  turned  up,  and  a  flint 
arrow-head.  This  inartificial  tomb  probably  contained  the  relics  of  a 
chief  of  the  Ottadini. 

DoLPHiNTON,  Lanarkshire. 

[1819,  Part  II.,  p.  252.] 

Among  the  many  relics  of  antiquity  with  which  Scotland  abounds, 
one  has  lately  been  discovered  at  Newholm,  in  the  parish  of 
Dolphinton,  Lanarkshire.  At  the  head  of  the  avenue  which  leads  to 
the  house,  upon  a  cut  being  made  through  a  little  eminence,  there 
was  observed  a  regular  row  of  stones ;  and,  on  removing  the  earth, 
there  appeared  a  most  entire  and  well-formed  stone  coffin.  Contrary 
to  the  general  mode  of  construction,  it  was  narrow,  and  made  in 
exact  conformity  to  the  shape  of  the  body.  The  stones  were  closely 
and  regularly  set  around.  The  upper  edge  was  as  smoothly  level  as 
if  it  had  been  hewn.  The  bottom  was  laid  with  stones,  and  they 
who  had  paid  the  last  tribute  to  the  mortal  remains  had  kindly  placed 
a  stone  for  a  pillow.  Notwithstanding  the  lapse  of  ages  since  the 
body  must  have  been  deposited  in  its  dreary  abode,  the  bones  were 
found  very  entire.  The  skull  was  almost  whole,  and  to  the  eye 
seemed  uncommonly  large  between  the  occiput  and  sinciput.  Most 
of  the  teeth  were  sound.  The  arms,  bones,  back,  thighs,  and  legs, 
were  all  recognised.  The  inside  of  the  coffin  was  fully  6  feet  long, 
and  it  appeared  as  if  the  body  had  been  pressed  into  it.  These  sad 
relics  were  examined  with  reverence,  and  again  deposited  in  the 
place  which  they  had  occupied  for  so  many  centuries. 

Briggs. 
[1864,  Part  II.,  p.  18.] 

The  "  Cat  Stane,"  situate  on  the  farm  of  Briggs,  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  river  Almond,  and  between  six  and  seven  miles  from 
Edinburgh,  on  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  road,  which  has  long 
been  a  subject  of  interest  and  of  puzzle  to  the  antiquary,  is  a  natural ' 
boulder,  irregularly  triangular  in  shape,  about  12  feet  in  circumference, 
and  rising  about  4  feet  above  the  ground,  which  at  this  point  is 
slightly  elevated,  partaking  somewhat  of  the  character  of  a  mound. 


192  Sepulchral  Rei7iains. 

Of  late  years  several  attempts  have  been  made  with  a  view  to 
discover  if  there  were  in  the  vicinage  of  the  "  Cat  Stane"  relics  of  any 
description,  but  these  were  quite  bootless.  Recently,  however,  Mr. 
Hutchison,  of  Carlowrie,  after  vainly  trying  to  the  west  of  the  stone, 
went  a  little  to  the  east  of  it,  where  none  had  ever  thought  of 
excavating  before,  and  here,  within  2  feet  or  so  of  the  surface,  he  was 
fortunate  enough  to  light  upon  a  stone  kist.  In  a  very  short  time 
his  men  came  upon  others,  and  there  are  now  lying  exposed  to  view 
thirty  or  forty,  and  probably  many  more  will  yet  be  found.  These 
kists  are  of  the  rudest  description,  being  composed  of  undressed 
stones  placed  together  edgeways  in  coffin  form,  a  large  slab  forming 
the  bottom  of  the  coffin,  into  which  the  corpse  appears  to  have  been 
laid,  and  then  stones  were  placed  above  them  as  a  lid.  The  coffins 
are  all  placed  so  that  the  faces  of  the  corpses  might  look  to  the  east, 
and  are  ranged  in  rows,  with  from  i  to  2  feet  between  each,  and  all 
on  the  same  level.  There  are  portions  of  three  rows  laid  bare,  and 
in  one  row  there  are  upwards  of  a  dozen  coffins  to  be  seen.  The 
coffins  were  not  air-tight,  neither  were  the  lids  so  closely  fitting  as  to 
keep  out  the  earth.  The  consequence  is  that  they  have  all  become 
filled  with  mould,  but  a  very  perfect  skull  was  discovered,  and 
portions  of  others. 

Glenshee,  Perthshire. 
[1829,  Part  II.,  p.  1 64. ] 

There  are  few  places  in  the  Highlands  of  Perthshire  where  a 
greater  number  of  vestiges  of  antiquity  are  to  be  found  than 
Glenalmond  and  Glenshee,  two  of  the  wildest  passes  into  the 
Grampians,  and  the  very  centre  of  Ossianic  ground.  Several  ancient 
tombs  are  to  be  seen  in  the  district,  which  were  brought  to  light  on 
removing  some  of  the  cairns  which  are  there  so  numerous.  Two  of 
these  heaps  were  lately  opened  on  the  farm  of  Corrylea,  on  the 
estate  of  Captain  Robertson,  of  Tullybelton,*  in  which  some 
interesting  monuments  were  found:  the  cairns  were  about  160  yards 
distant  from  each  other.  In  the  first  there  were  three  large  upright 
stones,  4  feet  high,  and  neatly  joined  together,  the  space  within  them 
being  laid  with  smooth  stones.  In  the  centre  of  the  same  cairn  (but 
whether  surrounding  or  aside  from  the  three  stones  previously 
described,  our  informant  does  not  say)  there  was  a  circle  formed  of 
upright  stones,  3  feet  8  inches  high,  the  stones  being  distant  from 
each  other  about  5  feet.  Within  the  circle  so  formed  was  a  belt  of 
slate  flags  about  3  feet  wide,  and  the  ground  thus  enclosed  an 
immense  quantity  of  burnt  ashes  of  wood  and  turf.  Near  the 
outside  of  this  cairn  there  was  another  place  the  same  as  described, 
but  of  a  smaller  size.  In  the  other  cairn  stood  a  large  stone,  7  feet 
in  length,  4  feet  in  breadth,  and  3  feet  thick,  on  which  was  cut  a 

*  Tully-bel-tein,  i.e„  the  Hill  of  Bel's  Fire. 


Antiquities  in   Wales.  193 

representation  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  In  various  places  of  the 
cairn  there  were  found  vast  quantities  of  human  bones  and  ashes ; 
and  in  the  centre  a  place  of  about  70  square  feet,  enclosed  by  stones 
3  feet  10  inches  in  height,  joined  closely  together.  The  ground 
within  this  enclosure  was  full  of  burnt  human  bones,  apparently  run 
together  into  masses  by  the  action  of  fire.  Near  the  outside  of  this 
cairn  were  found  four  graves  or  pits,  surrounded  with  smooth  stones, 
and  covered  with  flags,  also  containing  human  bones  and  ashes ;  and, 
about  300  yards  from  the  first  cairn  there  was  removed,  a  few  years 
since,  a  hillock  60  feet  in  circumference,  composed  entirely  of  burnt 
bones  and  ashes. 

Antiquities  in  Wales. 
Pass  of  Kyn  Gadel,  near  Laugharne. 

[1842,  Part  II..,pp.  472-474-] 

I  have  lately,  by  the  kindness  of  the  Rev.  Jasper  Nichols  Harrison, 
Vicar  of  Laugharne,  in  Caermarthenshire,  been  furnished  v.-ith  an 
account  of  a  very  interesting  discovery  which  has  been  made  near 
that  place.  It  has  been  mentioned  by  me,  in  the  "  Notices  of  the 
Castle  and  Lordship  of  Laugharne"  (communicated  to  the  Geiitk- 
ma?i's  Magazine  for  July,  1839),*  that  in  a  natural  cavern  at  Kyn 
Gadel,  a  pass  through  the  cliffs,  a  sacrificial  censer,  or  thuribulum,  of 
bronze,  was  discovered,  containing  many  coins  of  Carausius ;  that  I 
had  seen  the  relic,  and  that  it  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  British 
workmanship,  as  finely  finished  as  any  modern  engine-turned  vase. 
It  will  save  much  inefficient  description  to  represent  it  in  the  annexed 
sketch.  The  censer  itself  is  highly  worthy  a  place  in  any  collection 
of  national  antiquities. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  premise,  that  westward  of  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Taf,  a  fertile  tract  of  marsh  land  extends  for  a  considerable 
distance  under  the  ancient  limestone  cliffs,  which  doubtless  formed 
the  original  barrier  against  the  ocean.  This  tract  is  known  as 
"  Laugharne  Marsh,"  and  has  excellent  pasture  for  cattle ;  innumerable 
rabbits  have  made  their  burrows  in  the  sand  hills  which  now  preserve 
the  marsh  from  inundation.  About  two  miles  from  Laugharne  a 
causeway  diverges  to  the  south,  and  passes  between  the  hills  to  the 
marsh.  This  pass  is  called  Kyn  Gadel,  on  the  west  side  of  which  is 
a  bold,  insulated  hill,  called  Coigan's,  perhaps  from  its  having  been 
part  of  the  possessions  of  Milo  de  Coigan,  who  followed  Henry  I  J. 
into  Ireland  :  a  seat  called  "  Llan  Milo,"  or  the  enclosure  of  ]\Iilo,  is 
not  far  distant.  This  conjecture,  however,  has  no  better  foundation 
than  the  palpable  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  names  the  above- 
mentioned  localities  still  bear.     In  a  letter  dated  Laugharne,  April 

[*  This  communication  occurs  on  pp.  iS-22  :  it  will  be  printed  in  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  Lihrasy  in  the  volume  on  "Topography."] 

VOL.  v.  13 


194  Sepulchral  Remains. 

19,  1842,  Mr.  Harrison  gives  me  the  following  interesting  account  of 
another  discovery  at  Coigan's  Hill,  near  Kyn  Gadel,  where  the  bronze 
sacrificial  censer  is  said  to  have  been  found. 

"  On  the  northern  top  of  this  hill,  which  is  a  rock  of  limestone, 
the  quarrymen  who  were  digging  stone  for  the  limekilns  came  to  a 
kind  of  cell,  scooped  out  of  the  solid  rock,  in  which  was  the  skeleton 
of  a  man,  who,  from  the  bigness  of  his  bone,  must  have  been  a  fine 
fellow  in  his  day.  They  came  to  the  opening  of  the  grave  (for  such 
it  evidently  was)  from  the  east  side.  The  length  of  the  cavity  is 
about  4^  feet;  the  breadth  2 J  feet;  and  the  depth  2  feet.  The 
skeleton  was  lying  on  its  side,  with  its  head  towards  the  north,  facing 
the  east,  the  knees  being  bent  up,  so  as  to  allow  it  to  lie  in  so  short 
a  space.  The  length,  depth,  and  breadth  of  the  grave  vary  in 
different  parts — I  have  given  you  about  the  average.  It  is  dug,  as  I 
said,  in  the  natural  rock,  and  on  the  top  of  the  grave  is  a  huge  stone, 
almost  circular,  and,  I  should  think,  about  5  feet  in  diameter,  and 
from  ID  to  II  inches  thick.  This  stone  is  not  limestone,  but  what 
the  quarrymen  call  a  "  clegger,"*  and  must  have  been  brought  from 
the  adjoining  hill,  with  no  inconsiderable  labour  to  man  and  beast, 
precluding  the  possibility  of  the  body  being  buried  by  stealth  in  such 
a  situation.  The  top  of  the  covering  stone  was  about  a  foot  below 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  round  the  edges  of  it  a  kind  of  dry  wall 
was  built.  The  whole  was  overgrown  with  turf,  and  quite  concealed 
from  the  view,  till,  the  opening  being  made  at  the  side,  displaying 
the  skeleton,  induced  visitors  to  remove  the  turf  and  soil  from  the 
top,  to  discover  the  size  of  the  covering  stone.  The  soil,  mingled 
with  the  stones  in  the  cavity,  contains  numerous  bones  of  birds,  small 
animals,  and  snail  shells." 

Now,  Mr.  Urban,  your  readers  will  recognise  in  this  account  of 
the  sepulchre  lately  discovered  at  Kyn  Gadel  all  the  indications  of  a 
primitive  British  tomb.  The  ingenious  author  of  the  "  Encyclopaadia 
of  Antiquities,"  following  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare,  tells  us  that  the 
most  ancient  form  of  sepulture  was  the  deposit  of  the  body  within  a 
cist,  with  the  legs  and  knees  drawn  up,  and  the  head  towards  the 
north,t  exactly,  it  will  be  observed,  the  position  of  the  body  in  the 
grave  excavated  in  the  solid  rock  at  Kyn  Gadel. 

The  rude  wall  which  Mr.  Harrison  describes  as  surrounding  the 
degger,  or  covering  stone,  was,  I  doubt  not,  the  foundation  for  the 
base  of  a  tumulus  of  earth.  The  prospect  from  the  site  of  the  sepul- 
chre is  exceedingly  fine,  commanding  a  view  of  the  noble  Bay  of 
Caermarthen  on  all  sides.  I  have  shown  that  Coigan  Hill  probably 
derived  its  present  name  from  Milo  de  Coigan  ;  but  we  may  con- 
clude that  some  obscure  record  of  this  ancient  tomb  and  its  tenant 

*  The  term  is  Welsh,  clegr  or  clc^yi-,  a  rock.     See  Richard's  "  Thesaur.  Ling. 
Britann."  in  voce. 
t  Fosbroke's  "Encyc.  of  Antiq.,"  p.  490. 


Antiquities  in  Wales.  195 

is  preserved  in  the  appellation  of  the  neighbouring  ravine,  Kyn 
Gadel. 

As  for  the  tomb  of  Misenus,  a  most  elevated  spot  was  chosen  for 
this  sacred  deposit ;  and  it  is  highly  probable  that,  like  the  promon- 
tory Misoium,  the  pass  of  Kyn  Gadel  might  receive  its  name  from 
the  person  here  interred.  Evidently  he  was  of  some  distinction ; 
and  the  sacrificial  censer  found  at  the  place  we  suspect  to  have 
been  used  at  his  funeral  rites.  I  am  by  no  means  certain  of  the 
minute  accuracy  of  the  account  which  I  received  of  the  discovery 
of  the  censer  at  Kyn  Gadel.  I  think  it  much  more  probable  that 
it  might  be  found  in  procuring  limestone  from  the  hill  than  hid 
in  the  recesses  of  a  cavern.  The  coins  of  Carausius,  said  to  be 
discovered  with  it,  might  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  this  tomb 
belonged  to  some  admiral  employed  by  that  great  naval  commander 
on  the  British  shores,  and  thus,  like  the  Trojan  chief : 

" Ingenti  mole  sepulchrum 

Imponit,  suaque  arma  viro  remumque  tubamque 
Monte  sub  aerio  qui  nunc  Misenus  ab  illo 
Dicitur,  eternumque  tenet  per  secula  nomen."* 

Yet  the  singular  position  of  the  body  v;ould  seem  to  indicate  a  much 
earlier  period  of  deposition.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Pass  of  Kyn 
Gadel  was  probably  much  used  in  the  Roman-British  times ;  and  the 
causeway  was  perhaps  constructed  to  facilitate  the  landing  of  military 
bodies  at  this  spot.  I  suggest  that  the  appellation  of  the  person 
interred  on  the  hill  above  the  pass  of  Kyn  Gadel  was  the  well-known 
Celtic  one  of  Cadell,  which,  as  derived  from  Cad,  a  battle,  implies  a 
warrior.  Kyn  is  probably  a  corruption  of  Cwm,  and  thus  we  have 
Cwm  Cadell,  the  Pass  of  Cadell,  or  of  the  Warrior ;  the  name  of  the 
person  commemorated  having  been  derived  from  his  profession. 

Of  the  individual  interred  near  this  spot,  therefore,  an  obscure 
record  is  preserved  by  the  few  syllables  of  a  local  name ;  though, 
indeed,  it  might  seem  that : 

"  Deep  the  clouds  of  ages  roll, 
History  drops  her  mouldering  scroll, 
And  never  shall  reveal  the  name 
Of  him  who  scorns  her  transient  fame."t 

One  word,  Mr.  Urban,  on  the  huge  stone,  the  "  clegger"  which 
seals  the  aperture  of  the  warrior's  grave.  This  will  be  admitted  to  be 
a  most  ancient  mode  of  securing  the  mansions  of  the  dead.  May 
not  the  flat  tabular  stone  of  the  cromlech,  often  placed  on  supporters 
over  graves,  be  supposed  to  have  had  its  rise  from  the  huge  stone 
which  usually  covered  the  remains  deposited  below,  and  thus  to  indi- 
cate a  sepulchre  ? — just,  indeed,  as  in  our  modern  cemeteries  an 
incumbent  stone,  shaped  like  a  coffin,  indicates  a  grave. 

A.  J.  K. 
*  Virg.  /Eneid.  lib.  vi.,  v.  232. 

t  "  The  Celtic  Warrior's  Grave,"  by  the  Rev.  Canon  Bowles. 

13—2 


196  SeptUchral  Remains. 

Antiquities  in  Ireland. 

Phcenix  Park,  Dublin. 
[1838,  Part  IT.,  //.  180-181.] 

May  23. — A  cromlech,  or  ancient  tomb,  was  opened  in  the  Phcenix 
Park,  Dublin,  near  the  Hibernian  School.  It  consists  of  a  large 
limestone  slab,  rough  as  if  just  taken  from  a  quarry,  supported  by  six 
lesser  stones,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lesser  stones,  which  had 
evidently  been  removed  from  the  bed  of  the  Liffey.  When  the  earth 
was  withdrawn,  it  was  found  to  contain  two  nearly  perfect  human 
skeletons,  with  a  portion  of  another  skeleton,  and  one  bone,  supposed 
to  be  that  of  a  dog.  All  these  remains  were  in  a  high  state  of  pre- 
servation, the  teeth  nearly  perfect.  The  molars  of  one  skull  were 
much  more  worn  than  those  of  the  other.  Both  were  the  skulls  of 
persons  advanced  in  years.  Under  each  skull  was  discovered  a  heap 
of  shells  common  to  the  coast ;  the  7ierita  littoralis  was  rubbed  down 
on  the  valve  with  a  stone,  to  make  a  second  hole,  apparently  with  a 
view  to  their  being  strung  as  a  necklace.  Some  were  strung  with  the 
root  of  a  tree ;  a  single  trochus  shell  was  likewise  observed,  the  pearly 
covering  of  which  was  as  perfect  as  if  just  picked  up  on  the  sea  shore  ; 
near  that  lay  a  flint-headed  arrow.  The  tomb  was  discovered  in 
making  a  new  road  under  the  apex  of  a  mound  of  earth  15  feet  high, 
forming  the  segment  of  a  sphere  120  feet  diameter.  The  interior  of 
the  cromlech  measures  6  feet  by  5.  It  is  of  an  irregular  hexicon 
form.  The  original  structure  of  that  mound  is  supposed  to  have 
been  conical,  but  owing  to  the  operation  of  nature  and  the  treading 
of  cattle  it  had  assumed  the  form  of  a  segment  of  a  sphere.  There 
was  also  discovered  in  this  place  a  white  soft  substance,  phosphate  of 
lime,  part  of  the  decomposed  bones. 

Mavo. 
[1827,  Part  IT.,  p.  54S.] 

Nov.  28th  and  29th,  in  the  townland  of  Mayo,  and  on  that  farm 
in  the  possession  of  Robert  Martin,  Esq.,  Kilbroney,  were  discovered 
six  ancient  urns,  curiously  ornamented,  each  containing  a  quantity  of 
calcined  bones.  One  of  them  contained  a  very  small  vessel,  sup- 
posed to  be  a  lacrymatory.  There  have  now  been  discovered  ten, 
within  twelve  months,  in  the  townland  and  its  vicinity,  five  of  them 
in  fine  preservation  ;  and  also  a  small  tomb,  in  form  of  a  chest, 
1 8  inches  long  and  12  wide,  in  which  were  found  bones  and  an 
arrow-head  of  flint. 

Tyrone. 

[1802,  Part  II,  p.  1 1 85.] 

The  urn,  represented  in  Fig.  3,  was  found  in  the  year  1800,  on 
the  top  of  an  old  mount  of  earth  called  the  *'  Moat,"  in  the  manor 
of  Lindsay,  in  the  County  of  Tyrone,  about  8  feet  under  ground,  in  a 


Antiquities  in  Ii^eland. 


197 


tomb  3  feet  wide,  4  feet  long,  and  3  feet  in  depth,  formed  by  a  large 
flag  of  rough  stone  at  the  bottom,  two  side  flags  and  two  end  ones  of 
the  same  kind,  and  a  large  one  over  the  top  as  a  cover.  The  urn 
was  full  of  a  fine  earth  or  ashes,  so  hard  as  to  be  obliged  to  be  taken 
out  with  a  knife,  and  a  quantity  of  bones,  seemingly  burned,  and  fine 
earth  or  ashes  lying  in  the  tomb.  Diameter  of  the  top  of  the  urn 
(a  perfect  circle),  4^  inches ;  of  the  bottom,  2\  inches ;  depth, 
2y2  inches.  It  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Lindsay  of  Loughry,  lord 
of  the  manor,  by  one  of  whose  tenants  it  was  found  as  he  was  search- 
ing for  a  coal-mine. 

The  urn  is  made  of  burnt  clay  neatly  fluted,  and  ornamented  as 
represented  in  the  drawing,  which  is  the  exact  size,  form,  and  colour. 

The  drawing  was  taken  by  a  gentleman  (by  whose  permission  it  is 
sent)  for  an  intended  history  of  the  County  of  Tyrone ;  for  which,  by 
way  of  amusement,  he  continues  to  collect  materials,  but  it  is  not 
likely  soon  to  publish,  for  want  of  encouragement. 

C. 


Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 


ENCAMPMENTS,  EARTHWORKS,  ETC. 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors. 

[1861,  Part  /.,  //.  498-507.] 

MY  residence  for  many  years  past  has  been  fixed  in  a  district  of  a 
somewhat  pecuHar  character,  and  in  which  many  advantages 
are  rather  more  than  sufficiently  compensated  by  the  presence  of  more 
than  one  considerable  drawback.  Thus,  it  is  singularly  wild,  much 
of  it  equally  picturesque  and  beautiful,  wonderfully  healthy,  and 
sufficiently  primitive  in  many  of  its  customs  and  habitudes.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  roads  are  simply  astounding  for  hilliness  and  bad- 
ness, and  what  is  usually  understood  by  the  term  "  neighbourhood  " 
is  not  simply  non-existent,  but  much  more  really  impossible  than  the 
mathematical  quantities  so  called.  The  district  I  refer  to  is  a  con- 
siderable section  of  the  more  easterly  moorlands  of  North  Yorkshire, 
and  embraces  many  thousand  acres,  included  in  the  parishes  or 
townships  of  Skelton,  Guisborough,  Westerdale,  Danby,  Glaisdale, 
Egton,  Sleights,  and  Whitby.  Much  of  this  moorland  country  is  very 
familiarly  known  to  me,  and  there  is  but  a  small  portion  of  it  which 
I  do  not  know  or  have  not  visited  at  all.  I  may,  however,  specially 
mention  the  moors  of  Danby,  Glaisdale,  and  Westerdale  as  not  only 
those  which  I  know  best,  but  as  supplying  me,  in  the  course  of  con- 
tinual expeditions — parochial,  shooting,  "constitutional,"  or  connected 
with  a  taste  for  natural  history — with  no  small  part  of  the  materials 
for  the  following  communication. 

The  traveller  who  traces  the  high-road  from  Guisborough  to  Whitby 
passes  across  the  entire  breadth  of  the  district  in  question  ;  and,  out 
of  the  twenty-one  miles  which  lie  between  those  two  towns,  fourteen  at 
least  stretch  their  weary  up-hill  and  down-hill  length  over  the  moors. 
As  he  looks  back  from  the  newly  attained  moorland  level  at  Birk 
Brow,  the  grand  fragment  of  the  choir  of  the  Priory  Church  of 
Guisborough — all  that  is  left  of  the  entire  building — arrests  his  eye. 


202  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

As  he  reaches  the  eastern  Hmit  of  the  moors  he  comes  in  sight  of 
the  more  extensive  ruin  of  Hilda's  Abbey  Church  at  Whitby,  once 
as  glorious  for  beauty  as  the  loftier  pile  at  Guisborough.  Both  of 
these  conventual  remnants  are  "relics  of  antiquity  :"  and  yet  both 
are  "  infants  of  days "  contrasted  with  the  memorials  of  hoariest  eld 
with  which  a  great  extent  of  the  wide  moors  between  the  two  points 
of  view  just  named  are  everywhere  garnished.  For  miles  together 
they  are  bossed  over  with  the  monuments  of  dead  chieftains  of  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  centuries  ago :  some  as  perfect  in  form  and  material  as 
when  newly  piled  by  the  mourning  tribe  over  the  still  warm  ashes  of 
the  funeral-pile  ;  others  broken  into  or  excavated  across  by  the 
antiquary,  or  carried  piecemeal  away  by  the  rude  engineers  of  those 
inconceivable  moor-roads.  From  some  points  twenty  or  twenty-five 
of  these  sepulchral  piles  may  be  seen,  none  of  them  of  less  dimen- 
sions than  25  to  30  feet  through,  and  many  of  them  twice  or  three 
times  that ;  in  other  places  they  stand  so  thick,  although  often  of 
small  size,  that  the  surface  seems,  at  some  former  day,  to  have 
laboured  under  a  severe  eruptive  disorder,  and  to  have  had  a  wonder- 
fully favourable  crisis.  "  Standing-stones,"  too,  or  monoliths — and 
who  can  venture  to  guess  how  many  have  been  removed  bodily  by 
the  country  road-makers  and  wall-builders  ? — are  there,  deeply  scarred 
and  furrowed,  though  with  no  mightier  agency  than  that  of  the  slow 
tricklings  of  water-drops  ;  conical  hills  of  great  size,  some  nearly 
natural,  others  certainly  indebted  to  man's  art  for  part  of  their  sym- 
metry, if  not  for  their  entire  bulk  ;  circles  of  stones,  some  ring  within 
ring,  which  once,  no  doubt,  were  shrines  or  temples  ;  camps,  em- 
bankments, fosses,  and — more  interesting  still — the  sites  of  collective 
habitations  formerly  occupied  by  our  British  or  Celtic  ancestors, 
almost  surely  before  Isaiah  prophesied,  probably  before  Samuel  was 
born,  and  even  not  impossibly  when  Moses  led  the  Israelites  through 
the  Red  Sea. 

For  no  trace  of  metal,  that  the  writer  has  been  able  to  hear  of,  has 
ever  been  found  in  any  of  these  sepulchres  at  present  under  notice. 
A  few  bronze  weapons  and  other  implements  of  the  Archaic  Bronze 
period  were  found,  some  thirty  years  since,  on  Roseberry  Topping  (a 
conical  hill  about  three  miles  from  Guisborough),  and  others  else- 
where in  North  Yorkshire  ;  while  iron  wheel-tires,  and  iron  relics  of 
horse-trappings  and  of  the  rim  of  a  shield  have  been  taken  from 
tumuli  not  far  from  Market  Weighton  in  the  East  Riding ;  but  on  the 
wide  moors  I  am  speaking  of,  I  believe  only  flint  arrow-heads,  and 
rude  jet  ornaments  bead-like  in  shape,  and  ruder  half-baked  urns, 
with  a  few  hammer  or  axe-heads  of  hard  whinstone  or  quartz — all  of 
a  remote  era  of  the  remote  Stone  period — have  been  met  with  ;  no 
relics  even  of  any  application  of  bone,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  having 
been  as  yet  found. 

The  extreme  abundance  of  these  British  or  Celtic  remains  in  parts 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors.  203 

of  the  district  in  question  seems  mainly  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  so 
very  considerable  a  proportion  of  the  whole  extent  is  as  wild  and 
unaltered  by  the  hand  of  man  (save  only  in  the  destruction  of  the 
forest  which  must  once  have  covered  extensive  tracts  of  these  moors), 
or  by  the  advance  of  agriculture,  as  it  was  2,500  or  3,000  years  ago  ; 
but  perhaps  not  a  little  also  to  the  fact  that  there  appears  to  be  no 
doubt,  from  ancient  historical  records,  and  no  less  from  modern  ex- 
tension of  agricultural  limits,  as  well  as  from  the  revelations  or  dis- 
coveries consequent  on  modern  agricultural  innovations  and  improve- 
ments, that  the  "  Dales "  as  a  whole  were,  from  an  early  period, 
choked  with  forest  growth  wherever  they  were  not  smothered  with 
deep,  treacherous,  quaking  bog,  or  wet,  inhospitable  morass.  Nay, 
in  multitudes  of  instances  the  evidence  alluded  to  goes  to  prove  that 
forests  had  grown  up,  flourished,  died,  and  fallen,  and,  by  their  fall, 
probably  led  to  the  existence  of  a  deep  bog  which  serves  now  to 
entomb  their  remains.  Take  one  parish — my  own — of  some  23,000 
acres  in  extent,  and  of  the  ancient  Celtic  remains  in  which  I  propose 
to  speak  principally  in  the  ensuing  pages — and,  at  the  time  of  the 
Conquest,  we  find  only  about  1,300  acres  liable  to  be  taxed,  as  being 
cleared,  and  in  a  certain  sense  under  cultivation  ;  and  what  that  cul- 
tivation was  may  be  inferred  from  the  circumstance  that  the  Dooms- 
day surveyor's  estimate  was,  that  there  was  land  in  the  entire  manor 
for  seven  ploughs ;  all  the  rest  was  forest  and  moor,  and  the  former 
encroaching  enormously  on  what  is  now  the  latter.  Moreover,  by 
that  time  probably,  or  almost  certainly  (though  for  how  long  a  time 
we  cannot  even  guess),  the  woods  had  been  laid  under  contribution 
for  smelting  the  iron-ore  which  is  found  so  abundantly  in  the  entire 
neighbourhood. 

So  that  the  ancient  British  occupants  of  the  district,  whose  best 
weapons  against  the  forest  were  clumsy  whinstone  or  quartz  axes, 
perforated  with  inconceivable  labour  to  receive  the  helve,  must  have 
been  driven  to  such  parts  of  the  moor  as  were  sufficiently  dry  and 
open,  and  to  those  few  places  in  the  valleys  which,  by  the  absence 
of  wood  and  marsh,  permitted  them  to  form  their  huts  and  pasture 
their  scanty  herds. 

A  line  drawn  nearly  parallel  with  the  general  direction  of  the  high 
road  from  Guisborough  to  Whitby,  and  at  a  medium  distance  of  eight 
or  nine  miles  from  it,  would  very  nearly  coincide  with  a  sort  of 
natural  axis  of  high  lands  dropping  from  1,485  feet  above  the  sea  at 
Bottom  Head,  1,000  at  Lilhoue  Cross,  and  800  at  Stoup  Brow,  half- 
way between  Whitby  and  Scarborough.  From  this  axis  or  water- 
shed, along  its  whole  length,  the  high  ground  falls  gradually  towards 
the  north,  and  sends  forward  several  long,  irregularly  shaped  spurs, 
generally  of  inconceivable  width,  projecting  into  the  main  valley  of 
the  district — that  of  the  Esk — and  creating  a  succession  of  deep, 
narrov/  valleys,  all  debouching  in  the  main  or  central  one.     All  of 


204  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

these  spurs,  to  the  number  of  eight  or  nine,  were  fortified — two  or 
three  of  them  very  elaborately — against  attack  from  the  south.  Some 
of  these  fortifications  consist  of  single  ramparts  formed  of  earth  heaped 
over  collected  stones  (many  of  them  of  enormous  size,  considering 
the  forces  admitting  of  application  to  their  removal),  and  are  20 
to  25  feet  thick  at  the  base,  and  even  now,  with  what  more  than 
twenty-five  centuries  have  done  towards  filling  up  the  ditch  and  de- 
grading the  crest  of  the  vallum,  8  or  9  feet  high.  Others  have  been 
so  constructed  as  to  present  to  the  enemy  a  rugged  stone  face — the 
stones  composing  it  being  built  in,  in  a  Cyclopean  kind  of  style,  and 
firmly  retained  in  their  places  by  the  heaped-up  earth  upon  and  be- 
hind them — and  were  further  strengthened  by  planting  a  series  of 
large,  pinnacle-shaped  stones  along  the  crest  to  serve  as  battlements. 
Others,  again,  have  a  strong,  thick  vallum  on  each  side  of  an  inter- 
mediate fosse  :  or  perhaps  two  fosses  and  three  embankments  in  places 
where  greater  strength  seemed  to  be  required.  Two  or  more  of 
these  ramparts,  one  some  little  distance  in  the  rear  of  another,  serve, 
with  the  aid  of  circular  or  irregularly  shaped  "  camps  "  of  no  great 
size,  as  the  defences  of  all  these  projecting  points  or  bluffs ;  and, 
though  inconsiderable  in  point  of  length  and  general  magnitude,  in 
comparison  with  others  of  a  later  date  at  some  distance  from  this 
immediate  district,  still  they  must  have  been  executed  at  a  cost,  to  a 
tool-less  community,  of  manual  labour  and  time  which  appears  almost 
inconceivable. 

All  these  sets  of  fortification  seem  to  have  been  planned  and  con- 
structed for  the  protection  of  a  series  of  settlements,  or  collective 
habitations  of  a  tribe,  or  section  of  a  tribe,  of  the  ancient  Hill-Celts. 

Several  distinct  and  unquestionable  sites  of  such  settlements — I  do 
not  know  if  we  are  justified  in  applying  Caesar's  word  to  the  collective 
abodes  of  men  who  lived  so  many  generations  before  him,  and  say, 
"  several  sites  of  indisputable  oppida  " — still  remain  in  the  part  of  the 
district  that  is  protected  by  these  various  intrenchments.  There  is 
one  in  Westerdale,  another  on  Danby  North  Moors,  a  third  not  far 
from  Egton  Grange,  a  fourth  on  Goathland  Moors,  and  all  these 
independently  of  others,  about  which  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that, 
being  situate  more  in  the  valleys,  their  every  trace  has  been  swept 
away  by  the  operations  of  the  agriculturist.  It  is  indeed  wonderful 
that  the  settlement  in  Westerdale  has  escaped  similar  destruction ; 
and  the  fact  can  only  be  explained  on  the  ground  that  the  site  is  in 
such  a  position  as  to  offer  no  great  encouragement  to  the  labours  of 
the  ploughman,  and  that,  consequently,  time  and  the  feet  of  cattle 
being  the  only  agents  of  obliteration  at  work,  it  has  remained  until 
now,  and  even  little  altered  during  the  lapse  of  the  last  six  cen- 
turies. 

The  most  interesting  and  instructive  site  is  that  on  the  Danby 
Moors.     For  the  following  account  of  this  remarkable  spot  I  am 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors.  205 

partly  indebted  to  a  MS.  report  of  an  investigation  by  a  party  of 
gentlemen  twelve  or  fifteen  years  since,  but  not  less  to  my  own 
personal  and  repeated  examinations.  The  site  consists  of  a  collection 
of  pits  :  these  pits  are  circular  in  form,  and  divided  into  separate 
groups ;  but  every  group  is  arranged  in  two  parallel  lines — pit  over 
against  pit ;  an  arrangement  which  is  deviated  from,  in  one  or  both 
particulars,  in  other  sites,  both  here  and  elsewhere. 

All  of  these  excavations  have  been  from  4  to  5  feet  deep,  as  com- 
pared with  the  present  surface  of  the  surrounding  moor;  all  of  them 
paved  at  that  depth  with  stone,  and  probably  rough-walled  with 
uncemented  stone  within  as  well ;  and  from  10  to  12  feet  in  external 
diameter. 

There  are  two  principal  groups  :  one  composed  of  two  members, 
or  streets,  not  in  exactly  the  same  straight  line,  and  with  an  interval 
of  25  feet  between  their  several  terminations ;  the  other,  which  lies 
beyond  a  small  stream,  and  above  the  verge  of  the  slope  towards  it, 
is  smaller  in  dimensions  ;  and,  about  a  hundred  yards  to  the  south  of 
this,  is  the  supposed  commencement  of  another.  This  contains  six 
pits  ;  the  one  to  the  north  of  it  thirty  or  more, — some,  it  is  supposed, 
having  become  indiscernible  through  lapse  of  time  and  its  effects  ; 
that  on  the  further  or  western  side  of  the  stream  is  larger,  and 
numbers  sixty-eight  excavations  in  all,  thirty  in  one  division  and  thirty- 
eight  in  the  other.  This  range  is  broader  by  some  feet  than  the 
eastern  group,  which  is  50  feet  from  side  to  side  ;  that  measurement 
includes  the  walls,  formed  of  earth  heaped  over  stones  and  fragments 
of  rock,  and  each  2  to  3  yards  thick,  which  enclose  the  sides  of  each 
group  of  pits.  In  the  larger  sub-group  of  the  western  division  one  of 
the  excavations  in  the  south  row  is  of  much  greater  dimensions  than 
any  other  in  the  assemblage,  being  not  less  than  35  feet  in  interior 
diameter ;  and  on  coming  to  it  the  enclosing  wall,  which,  if  continued, 
would  pass  through  its  centre,  sweeps  round  it  in  a  semicircle  and 
then  continues  its  rectilineal  course.  But  the  enclosure  of  the  pit  in 
question  is  completed  by  the  addition  of  an  interior  semicircular  wall. 
This  interrupts  the  regularity  of  the  "  street "  in  this  case.  In  each 
of  the  other  groups  the  street  is  perfectly  straight  and  even.  The 
ends  of  the  rows,  or  so-called  streets,  are  open  in  every  case  :  although 
in  one  instance  the  two  pits  at  the  end  are  placed  nearer  each  other 
than  the  remaining  ones,  so  as  to  contract  the  entrance  to  the 
interior.  If  all  were  placed  end  to  end  the  total  length  would  be 
from  1,200  to  1,300  feet. 

To  the  south  of  the  main  group  lie  three  tumuli  in  a  line,  of  large 
dimensions,  being  70  to  80  feet  in  diameter.  Another  tumulus, 
much  broader  but  more  depressed  than  either  of  the  other  three, 
stands  about  60  yards  from  the  eastern  termination  of  the  main 
group ;  and  about  300  yards  to  the  north  of  it  stands  a  monolith,  or 
"  standing-stone,"  or  "  Druidical  pillar,"  as  such  objects  are  variously 


2o6  Euca7npments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

called.  The  tumulus  last  named  is  not  sepulchral.  From  the  fact 
that  it  is  enclosed  with  a  ditch  and  circular  bank  or  ring  of  earth,  it 
was  assumed  to  be  of  a  different  nature  from  the  other  three,  which 
are  ascertained  to  be  sepulchral ;  and,  on  examination,  no  signs  of 
its  having  ever  been  used  as  a  place  of  sepulture  were  discoverable. 
It  held,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  as  close  a  relation  with  the 
political,  and  possibly  with  the  religious  and  judicial,  observances  of 
the  living  inhabitants  of  the  settlement,  as  the  other  three  did  with 
the  long  home  and  memory  of  deceased  distinguished  members  of 
the  community. 

The  settlement  at  Westerdale  is  about  i,ooo  feet  long  by  300 
broad,  but  the  pits  are  much  more  scattered  and  indefinable.  Indeed, 
many  of  those  which  are  within  the  limits  of  enclosure  are  almost  or 
totally  obliterated.  For  six  hundred  years  or  more  this  site  has  been 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Ref-holes." 

The  settlement  on  Snowdon  Nab,  near  Egton  Grange,  500  feet  by 
450,  is  set  very  full  of  circular  pits  (except  in  the  central  space  left 
vacant),  which  are  in  many  cases  excavated  through  thin  beds  of 
sandstone  and  shale,  the  exterior  rows  being  set  in  a  zigzag  form. 
Where  the  ground  penetrated  was  not  rocky ;  they  seem,  from  traces 
still  or  lately  left,  to  have  been  walled  round  inside  like  a  well.  This 
group  seems  not  to  have  been  protected  by  any  closely  adjacent 
rampart  or  defence  ;  but  at  the  period  of  its  occupation  it  was 
probably  surrounded  by  dense  forest,  which,  it  hardly  need  be 
suggested,  might  easily  be  made  to  afford  the  strongest  sort  of 
fortification  and  defence. 

The  Goathland  settlement  occupies  a  space  of  600  feet  by  150,  but 
the  pits  are  not  so  thickly  clustered  as  in  that  last  named.  The  name 
by  which  this  site  has  been  known,  time  out  of  mind,  is  "  Killing- 
pits." 

Besides  these,  several  others  might  be  named ;  but,  as  their  inhabi- 
tants would  seem  to  have  been  cut  off  from  communication  with 
those  that  have  been  already  specially  named,  either  by  defensive 
fortifications,  or  by  position,  or  (still  more)  by  time,  it  would  only 
occupy  space  to  little  purpose  to  notice  them  in  detail.  It  seems, 
however,  to  the  writer  that  a  few  lines  should  be  given  to  a  glance 
at  one  extensive  cluster,  which  occurs  almost  as  much  to  the  south 
of  the  axis  or  ridge-line  named  above,  as  several  of  the  fortifications, 
also  above-named,  lie  to  the  north  of  it ;  and  which  from  their  different 
shape — or  shapes  rather — and  more  elaborate  structure,  suggest  the 
idea  that  they  were  possibly  occupied,  either  at  a  period  of  somewhat 
greater  constructive  skill,  or  else  by  a  branch  of  a  different  tribe 
from  those  who  dwelt  in  our  more  immediate  district :  so  that,  con- 
sequently, it  may  have  been  against  their  incursions  that  those  frequent 
ramparts  were  designed  and  reared.  The  dwellings  in  question  occu- 
pied a  space  of  1,400  feet  by  300,  and  the  pits  are  of  all  shapes — 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors.  207 

circular,  oval,  semilunar,  and  the  like  ;  of  large  dimensions  also,  both 
as  to  area  and  depth ;  in  some  cases  divided  into  two  or  more  apart- 
ments by  partition  walls,  and  all  so  strongly  lined  with  stone,  that 
*'  Stone-haggs,"  as  the  place  is  called,  has  served  as  a  quarry  to  the 
country  road-makers  for  a  lengthened  period  past*  Their  walls 
indeed,  in  some  cases,  seem  to  have  risen  quite  above  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  moor ;  and  thus,  as  well  as  in  the  other  particulars 
named,  they  appear  to  have  been  unlike  those  which  have  hitherto 
been  specially  named  in  this  communication,  and  to  which  we  must 
now  return. 

The  condition  of  the  Danby  Moor  settlement  is,  in  few  words,  this  : 
Out  of  the  total  number  of  104  pits  which  can  be  distinctly  made 
out,  the  outlines  of  all,  save  some  half-dozen,  may  be  traced  without 
any  difficulty.  A  few  are  not  so  easily  distinguishable,  and  would 
pass  unnoticed  but  for  their  vicinity  to,  and  evident  connection  with, 
the  others.  All,  except  those  in  which  exploratory  excavations  have 
been  recently  made,  are  more  or  less  grown  up  with  vegetable  matter. 
In  all  of  them,  on  excavation,  charred  pieces  of  wood  are  met  with 
upon  the  stone  floor ;  but  so  far,  I  believe,  no  other  traces  of  occu- 
pation. What  a  systematic  examination  might  do  remains  to  be 
proved. 

These  curious  and  interesting  remains  enable  us  to  reconstruct, 
in  idea,  the  Celtic  village,  or  oppidimi,  of  seventy-five  or  eighty  gene- 
rations ago.  Rudely  dressed  poles  from  the  surrounding  forest,  with 
their  ends  resting  on  the  upper  part  of  the  rough  interior  stone-lining 
of  each  pit,  and  all  meeting  in  a  point  above,  with  wattled  work  filling 
in  the  interstices,  and  all  thatched  or  covered  with  rushes  or  ling, 
and  perhaps  an  outer  envelope  of  sods,  presenting  the  form  of  a 
depressed  conical  mound  to  the  beholder's  eye,  with  a  hole  at  the 
side  to  permit  the  smoke  of  the  fire  in  the  centre  to  escape,  as  well 
as  to  afford  exit  and  ingress  for  the  inmates  ;  this  would  be  what  was 
noticeable  about  each  individual  hut  on  the  outside ;  the  chiefs 
house  differing  from  the  others  in  little  save  its  greater  size  and  eleva- 
tion outwardly,  and  in  possessing  one  or  more  roof-sustaining  props 
or  posts  within.  From  the  exterior  of  the  enclosing  rampart  of  stones 
and  earth  little  would  be  seen  besides  the  loftier  house  last  named 
and  just  the  tops  of  the  ordinary  huts  ;  the  walls  of  enclosure — 
crowned,  as  they  surely  would  be,  with  rough  palisading — being  amply 
high  enough  to  cover  all  within  from  too  curious  inspection.  At 
night,  or  when  danger  threatened,  the  ends  of  the  streets  would,  of 
course,  be  closed  with  abattis  of  some  sort,  or  with  other  means  of 

*  That  period,  however,  fortunately  for  "  Stone-haggs  "  and  other  like  memo- 
rials, does  not  extend  beyond  the  memory  of  many  persons  still  living  ;  so  recent 
are  all  or  almost  all  our  roads  in  their  modern  form.  Up  to  nearly  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century  roughly  flagged  narrow  causeways,  traversed  by  pack-horses, 
supplied  the  means  of  intercommunication. 


2o8  Encampments,  Earthzvorks,  Etc. 

barricade,  sufficiently  strong  to  repel  a  sudden  attack,  and  at  the  same 
time  such  as  to  admit  of  easy  removal  from  within. 

One  other  feature  still  recognisable  and  connected  with  the  habits 
of  this  community  remains  to  be  noticed.  In  the  valley  between 
the  eastern  and  western  groups  of  hut-sites  is  an  enclosure,  divided 
into  two  parts  by  the  little  stream  already  noticed,  and  very  similar  in 
its  present  appearance  to  what  are  ordinarily  termed  camps  ;  that  is 
to  say,  formed  of  earthen  embankments  with  a  stone  basis,  but  which, 
from  its  position,  can  never  have  been  in  any  way  connected  with 
attack  and  defence.  The  most  probable  supposition  with  reference 
to  its  use  or  purpose  is  that,  when  its  walls  were  perfect  and  crested 
with  firmly-set  palisades,  it  served  as  a  place  of  security  for  the  cattle 
of  the  settlement ;  and  from  its  dimensions  it  would  seem  to  hint  that, 
in  proportion  to  the  probable  number  of  the  entire  community,  their 
stock  could  not  have  been  so  very  few. 

The  arrangement  of  the  separate  dwellings  and  their  dimensions, 
in  all  these  several  settlements  that  have  been  under  notice — none  of 
them  (except  the  so-called  chiefs)  on  the  average  exceeding  15  or  18 
feet  in  diameter,  and  most  of  them  coming  sensibly  below  that — give 
rise  to  a  suggestion  which  may  well  insinuate  a  doubt  as  to  the 
correctness  of  a  statement  made  by  Julius  Ccesar,  and  probably 
repeated  on  his  authority  by  later  writers — I  mean  the  allegation  that 
it  was  customary  among  the  Britons  for  ten  or  twelve  men  to  have 
their  women — one  can  hardly  say  wives — in  common.  These  separate 
huts,  each  equivalent,  and  only  equivalent,  to  the  shelter  of  a  single 
family,  seem  to  tell  a  very  different  tale  ;  while  the  regularity  ob- 
servable in  the  parallel  rows,  and  not  less  in  the  opposite  or  alternate 
huts  in  the  rows,  seems  even  to  testify  to  a  prevailing  sense  of  fitness 
and  order  in  these  ancient  members  of  the  human  family.  Rude, 
fierce,  unskilled  in  any  art,  save  those  of  war  and  the  chase — in  one 
word,  savage — as  these  Celts  were,  still  these  strange  hoary  memorials 
certainly  suggest  that  they  knew  and  respected  the  marriage  tie  and 
the  sacred  bond  of  family. 

The  chiefs  hut,  to  the  writer,  whose  pursuits  continually  conduct 
his  steps  over  and  among  these  primeval  remains,  induces  a  com- 
parison with  a  particular  ring  or  enclosure  on  the  third  of  the  ridges 
or  spurs  named  above,  beginning  to  count  from  the  west.  The  ridge 
is  most  carefully  fortified  ;  at  the  narrowest  part  of  it,  and  somewhat 
over  a  long  bow-shot  from  the  rise  of  a  hill,  which  sweeps  back  to  the 
line  of  greatest  height  beyond,  is  an  entrenchment,  consisting,  towards 
its  eastern  end,  of  a  double  dyke  and  ditch  between,  and  of  three 
dykes  and  two  intervening  ditches  along  its  western  portion.  In  rear 
of  this  is  a  nearly  circular  entrenchment  or  camp,  which  may  have 
served  as  a  rallying-point  in  case  of  losing  the  first  line.  Again, 
somewhat  more  to  the  rear,  there  is  a  single  dyke,  crossing  the  whole 
width  of  the  ridge,  and  originally  of  considerable  dimensions,   but 


Traces  of  otir  Remote  Ancestor's.  209 

which  has  been  quarried  away  by  Httle  and  Httle  by  road-makers  and 
others,  until  in  many  places  only  a  broad  belt  of  brackens  and  a  few 
stones,  too  big  to  be  removed,  remain  to  show  where  it  stood.  Two 
or  three  hundred  yards  to  the  rear  of  this,  again,  was  another  single 
dyke,  extending  two-thirds  across  the  spur,  and  commencing  from  the 
western  edge  ;  and  below  that  a  fourth,  commencing  on  the  eastern 
side  and  reaching  far  enough  across  to  overlap  the  extremity  of  the 
last.  And  what  is  curious,  this  fourth  and  last  is  also  continued 
down  the  exceedingly  steep  face  of  the  eastern  bank  to  the  edge  of 
what  must  have  been,  till  within  the  last  century  or  so,  an  impassable 
bog.  Here  it  rests  upon  and  is  supported  by  a  series  of  two  (or 
perhaps  three)  camps,  so  constructed  as  to  defend  one  another,  and 
be  separately  defensible  in  succession,  if  the  first  of  them  happened 
to  be  taken. 

Now,  behind  the  second  of  the  ramparts  just  named  there  is  a  ring 
of  stones  (denuded  by  accidental  causes  of  their  one-time  covering 
of  earth),  with  a  depression  or  hollow  within,  of  about  the  same 
dimensions  and  general  appearance  as  the  chiefs  house,  and  which 
the  writer  conjectures  may  probably  have  been  the  permanent  head- 
quarters of  the  chief  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  garrison 
defending  this  evidently  most  important  post.  For  other  things 
besides  those  skilfully  devised  and  elaborately  constructed  entrench- 
ments serve  to  show  that  it  was  important.  Literally  hundreds  of 
tumuli  covered  the  face  of  the  moor  there,  beginning  to  be  numerous 
behind  the  second  line  of  defence ;  two  or  three  here  and  there  in  the 
rear  of  the  compound  or  main  rampart  suggest  the  ideas  of  a  struggle 
with  an  invading  party  and  of  victory  resting  with  the  defenders, — 
ideas  the  likelihood  of  which  is  not  lessened  by  the  appearance  of  one 
or  two  small  rudely  formed  hillocks  outside  the  defences.  Then, 
there  is  also  an  earthen  ring  with  its  usual  substratum  of  sand-stone, 
42  feet  in  diameter,  in  the  eastern  limb  of  which  still  stands  a  "  Druid- 
stone,"  5  feet  high  above  the  surface,  broad,  and  not  more  than  8 
or  10  inches  thick;  channelled  and  furrowed,  along  its  upper  and 
southern  edges,  an  inch  deep,  by  the  insignificant  energies  of  drops  of 
rain,  and  condensing  fogs,  and  melting  snowflakes.  Sundry  gaps 
besides  show  where  other  such  stones  stood  ;  but  a  moor  road  sweeps 
close  by  and  explains  alike  the  departure  of  the  others  and  the  reten- 
tion of  this.  It  is  useful  to  indicate  the  track  when  hidden  by  snow, 
as  they  were  to  furnish  its  "  metal." 

Can  we  in  imagination  repeople  these  wastes — these  desolate 
hearth  -  places  of  mysterious  antiquity  and  power  of  enduring  ? 
Perhaps,  in  a  measure,  we  can.  That  wood  of  forty-five  acres,  and 
chiefly  of  oak,  clothing  a  part  of  the  bank  which  descends  from  the 
moor  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Esk,  nearly  opposite  to  the  site  of  the 
first  baronial  fortress  raised  in  this  locality,  the  sole  remnant  of  the 
10  or  12  square  miles  of  forest  in  which  Norman  De  Brus  and  his 

VOL.  v.  14 


210  Encampments,  Earthivorks^  Etc. 

retainers  revelled  in  the  pleasures,  and  excitements,  and  risks  of  the 
chase,  gives  us  a  starting-point  for  the  imagination  ;  and  we  see  the 
whole  valley  down  to  Esk  banks,  together  with  its  offshoots  (mainly 
on  the  south),  full  of  varying  growths  of  wood — birch,  rowan-tree, 
oak,  fir,  alder  ;  the  first  two  highest  and  straggling  over  the  summit, 
the  last  lowest  and  predominating  along  the  marshy  banks  of  the 
stream  and  the  edges  of  the  many  open,  jungle-looking  spots,  which 
are  simply  bog  or  morass,  with  their  rank  and  accustomed  herbage. 
And  the  stately  red  deer  is  there,  and  the  timid  roe,  and  the  savage, 
champing  wild  boar ;  and  here  and  there  in  the  glades  are  wild- 
looking  oxen,  of  a  whitish  cream-colour  with  black  muzzles,  and  long 
horns  wide-set.  The  goat,  too,  is  seen  higher  up  on  the  banks,  and 
the  stealthy  wolf  prowls  there  also ;  while  smaller  game,  and  perhaps, 
in  remotest  eld,  larger  beasts  of  prey  than  the  wolf  are  hidden  beneath 
the  wilder,  thicker  coverts. 

And  the  human  hunter,  with  matted,  untrimmed  hair  and  beard ; 
with  rough,  undressed  skins  for  garments,  so  far  as  he  is  garmented  at 
all ;  wild-eyed,  and  with  glances  wavering  and  thrown  round  in 
unceasing,  restless  watchfulness  ;  not  large  in  stature  or  of  stalwart 
form ;  with  head  and  features  betokening  no  intellectual  excellency, 
but  the  contrary ;  armed  with  a  bow  and  rude  basket-work  quiver  of 
much-prized  arrows,  and  with  a  javelin  headed,  like  the  arrows,  with 
neatly  chipped,  sharp-edged  flakes  of  flint  or  agate ;  with  a  rude  axe 
or  celt  alsOj  wedge-shaped,  and  hafted  into  a  pardy  cleft  or  perforated 
club  ; — that  is  his  equipment.  And  we  see  him,  stealthy  as  a  beast 
of  prey  dogging  its  intended  victim,  creeping,  instinct-guided  rather 
than  inteUigence-led,  upon  the  unsuspecting  deer  or  roe ;  and  the 
bow  twangs,  almost  at  the  creature's  ear,  and  the  primitive  arrow  does 
its  work. 

Or  we  might  picture  him  as  animated  by  the  fierce  passions  and 
instincts  of  the  savage  warrior  ;  one  while  seeking  to  steal  with  silent, 
treacherous  advance  on  the  unsuspecting  foe;  again,  with  his  intensely 
acute  senses  of  sight  and  hearing  on  full  stretch,  in  order  to  detect 
the  possibly  lurking  enemy  or  to  avoid  the  risk  of  surprise ;  and  then 
engaged  in  fell  death-struggle,  as  savage,  as  unrelenting  and  inveterate, 
as  reckless  of  all  but  the  passions  of  the  strife,  as  the  veriest  wild 
beast  of  his  own  forests. 

Or  we  might  represent  him  at  the  gathering  of  the  tribe  about  the 
sacred  rath,  and  listening  to,  perhaps  proceeding  to  execute,  the 
solemn  edict  or  decision  of  the  warrior-chief;  a  chief  doubtless  by 
the  right  of  the  readiest,  strongest,  most  unscrupulous  hand.  Or  else, 
as  one  among  a  band  of  trembling  votaries,  drawing  near  to  the 
rudely  pillared  enclosure-temple,  canopied  only  by  the  blue  vault  of 
heaven,  and  swayed  by  terror,  or  blind  hope,  or  ruthless  savagery,  at 
the  will  of  the  stern  interpreters  of  a  dark  and  merciless  superstition. 

Or  a  chief  is  dead,  and  we  see  a  pyre  constructed,  dead  trees  being 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors.  211 

knocked  rather  than  hewn  in  pieces  by  the  awkward  axes  of  basalt, 
resembhng  a  heavy  geological  hammer  in  shape.  And  the  corpse  is 
placed  upon  it,  and,  amid  the  sacred  song  of  primeval  occupants  of 
the  priestly  office — not  as  yet,  it  may  be,  denominated  Druids — as  they 
celebrate  the  dead  man's  deeds,  it  is  consumed  amid  the  leaping 
flames.  And  then  the  calcined  remains  are  collected  and  placed  in 
one  of  those  rude  cinerary  urns  which  are  guiltless  of  potter's  wheel, 
and  indebted  to  a  pointed  stick  for  their  ornamentation  ;  and,  to- 
gether with  the  incinerated  fragments,  is  placed  a  smaller  urn,  con- 
taining we  know  not  what.  His  weapons,  too,  are  there,  and  his 
scanty  ornaments,  and  all  placed  together  in  the  rude  cist,  made  of 
unhewn  stones,  covered  with  another  as  rough  and  Uttle  flag-Uke  as 
they.  And  then,  over  all,  on  the  very  site  of  the  pyre,  are  piled 
stones  and  earth,  till  a  heap  is  raised  which  shall  outlast  the  costliest, 
most  elaborate  mausoleum  of  other  climes. 

Or  perhaps  he  is  a  greater  man — that  dead  man — or  one  whose 
person  is  more  sacred  than  often  passes  away  from  among  his  people; 
and  his  body  is  not  to  be  burnt  as  in  other  cases,  albeit  those  of 
certain  of  his  slaves,  perhaps  of  some  nearer  to  him  yet,  will  be 
consumed  in  a  circle  round  the  rude  sarcophagus  which  is  destined 
to  hold  his  mortal  remains,  and  a  larger  urn  is  placed  with  him,  con- 
taining food  or  some  offering  to  his  deities.  There  is  a  thronging 
multitude  to  assist  at  the  obsequies,  and  to  help  raise  the  mighty 
mass  which  shall  tell  his  successors  for  thirty  successive  centuries 
that  one  who  was  once  a  great  one  of  the  earth  lies  entombed  there. 

Why  should  we  task  fancy  to  repicture  the  women  ?  They  were 
probably  more  degraded  in  mind  than  the  men,  unclothed,  long- 
haired, prematurely  withered — meet  helps  and  mates  to  such  lords. 
In  one  word,  they  must  have  been  the  "  squaws  "  of  White  hunter 
and  warrior  savages,  instead  of  Red  ones. 

[1863,  Part  I.,  pp.  22-27.] 

In  the  Gentlemaiis  Magazine  for  May,  1S61  \ante,  pp.  168-169], 
reference  was  made  to  the  numerous  barrows  or  grave-hills — locally 
termed  "  houes  " — scattered  over  the  moors  of  the  Cleveland  district 
of  North  Yorkshire.  Since  the  paper  containing  the  reference  in 
question  was  written,  the  author  has  had  opportunities  of  making 
himself  acquainted  with  the  interior  of  several  of  these  houes  ;  and  it 
is  possible  that  what  he  has  observed  and  collected  may  not  be  with- 
out a  certain  measure  of  interest. 

Besides  being  very  numerous,  the  houes  are  very  much  diversified 
as  to  size,  materials,  shape,  construction,  and  general  plan.  Not  a 
few  of  them  are  of  the  so-called  "  basin-houe  "  class.  Some  few  are 
besides  enclosed  and  kept  up  round  their  base  by  a  circle  of  large 
rude  flags,  or  at  least  flat-sided  stones,  set  edgewise.  Some  are  60  to 
90  yards  round  the  base,  and  7  to  12  feet  high  at  the  centre,  and 

,14—2 


212  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

beautifully  symmetrical.  Others  are  6  to  lo  yards  in  diameter,  and 
nowhere  raised  3  feet  above  the  natural  level  of  the  surrounding  soil. 
Some,  again,  are  mere  raised  mounds,  from  40  to  60  feet  in  diameter, 
with  scarcely  any  pretension  at  all  to  symmetrical  structure.  In  a 
few  instances  the  material  employed  seems  all,  except  the  eight  or  ten 
inches  of  superficial  soil,  to  have  passed  through  the  fire — nay,  even 
to  be  chiefly  composed  of  layers  of  ashes  and  charred  matter,  due  to 
peat  (or  turf)  and  ling,  and  sand  burned  to  a  white  hue.  In  other 
cases,  again,  few  traces  of  the  action  of  fire  are  discernible — at  least 
not  until  the  deposit  of  calcined  bones  is  nearly  approached,  when 
a  small  collection  of  charcoal  is  met  with ;  while  a  third  variety  is, 
so  to  speak,  built  up  of  incredible  quantities  of  stone,  all  deeply 
reddened,  and  no  little  of  it  disintegrated,  by  vehement  and  long- 
continued  heat.  In  yet  a  fourth  kind,  stone,  or  rather  fragments  of 
stone,  from  the  dimensions  of  a  few  cubic  inches  to  as  many  feet, 
form  the  chief  constituent  elements  of  the  grave-hill,  usually  thrown 
together  with  very  little  care  for  arrangement,  but  now  and  then 
found  to  have  been  piled  with  a  regular  or  systematic  design. 

In  no  instance,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  seen  or  has  been  able  to 
ascertain,  has  a  cist  or  chamber  of  the  ordinary  character  been  found, 
viz.,  four  or  more  flags  set  up  on  edge  and  covered  in  with  a  fifth. 
In  one  instance,  several  years  since,  a  walled  chamber,  somewhat 
oval  in  outline,  was  discovered  ;*  and  the  writer  has  seen  what  he 
conceives  to  be  the  traces  of  one  or  two  similar  cists  on  the  sites  of 
houes  destroyed  long  since  for  the  sake  of  their  materials.  Ordinarily, 
the  calcined  bones  of  the  entombed  Celt  are  either  contained  in  a 
cinerary  urn,  unprotected  by  any  systematic  structure  of  stone  from 
the  superincumbent  and  encompassing  soil,  the  urn  frequently  placed 
mouth  downwards  ;  or  else  placed  in  a  small  hollow  in  the  substance 
of  the  hill,  and  partly  or  entirely  covered  by  a  flagstone  of  small 
dimensions. 

Almost  everything   the  writer  has  been  enabled  to  investigate  is 

*  The  houe  in  which  this  cist  was  found  was  of  remarkable  character  in  two  ways  : 
first  as  to  structure,  and  next  as  to  name  and  the  tradition  still  attaching  to  it.  It 
was  raised  to  a  height  of  seven  or  eight  feet  above  the  soil,  and  was  of  sufficiently 
large  dimensions  to  admit  of  a  circle  of  stones  (standing  three  to  four  feet  above 
the  ground),  of  at  least  eight  or  nine  yards  in  diameter,  upon  its  upper  rim.  The 
cist  was  walled  on  the  same  principle  as  a  well  (of  course  without  cement),  and  was 
nearly  five  feet  one  way  by  about  three  feet  the  other.  It  was  followed  down  for 
five  or  six  feet  without  discovery  of  urn  or  other  deposit. 

The  name  (still  preserved,  although  the  houe  has  been  removed  bodily  and  its 
site  cut  across  by  a  walled  fence)  is  "  Gallow  Houe,"  and  the  tradition,  that  a 
gallows  actually  stood  on  or  near  it,  in  times  gone  by,  and  had  not  stood  there  for 
nothing.  For  miles  round,  on  every  side  but  the  west,  the  manors  were  owned  by 
the  De  Brus  family  from  an  early  period  after  the  Conquest ;  and  the  adjoining 
village  of  Castleton  takes  its  name  from  the  castle  (an  early  Norman  structure) 
built  by  them  to  maintain  their  power  and  possessions  in  this  part  of  the  district. 
And  as  they  undoubtedly  did  possess  the  usual  feudal  rights,  in  more  than  mere 
probability  both  name  and  tradition  noticed  above  are  justified  by  fact. 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors,  213 

such  as  to  prove  entirely  confirmatory  of  the  opinion  expressed  to 
him  by  the  late  Mr,  Bateman,*  in  a  letter  bearing  date  January  31, 
i860.  All  these  grave-hills,  from  the  character  of  the  inclosed  pot- 
tery, and  the  few  and  rude  flint  weapons  accompanying  the  deposit, 
are  of  a  "relatively  early  period  in  the  indefinitely  ancient  Celtic  age." 
In  one  instance  the  only  arrow-head  found — it  was  close  beneath  the 
inverted  urn — was  an  extremely  rude  one  of  porphyry,  and  not  a 
trace  of  flint  was  anywhere  discoverable,  though  the  search  has  been 
since  renewed. 

In  one  of  the  "  basin-houes"  lately  examined  by  the  writer  with 
considerable  care  and  vigilance,  the  method  of  construction  appeared 
to  be  as  follows  : — A  large  stone,  about  2  feet  square  by  2%  long,  was 
either  selected  as  already  in  situ,  or  set  by  design  in  the  soil  of  the 
chosen  site  of  the  intended  tumulus ;  probably,  as  it  lay  in  rather  a 
sloping  manner,  it  was  there  already.  A  little  to  the  south-west  of 
this  stone  the  calcined  bones  of  the  dead  man  were  laid,  in  a  thin 
stratum,  14  or  16  inches  long  by  about  8  broad.  A  small  thin  flag 
was  laid  over  part  of  them,  and  then  commenced  the  building  of  the 
hill.  First,  a  ring  of  ashes  and  sand  and  commingled  charcoal,  of 
perhaps  3  yards  mean  diameter  (about  equal  to  the  extreme  diameter 
of  the  "  basin  "  above  when  the  hill  was  finished),  with  the  stone  for 
its  centre,  and  overlying  the  ashes  of  the  dead  :  this  ring  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  entire  ^vork.  Layer  over  layer  was  now  placed  upon 
it,  only  with  a  very  gradual  and  still  widening  slope  on  the  outside, 
and  a  much  shorter  and  more  abrupt  one  internally.  Sand  and 
gravel,  with  very  few  stones  (except  on  the  outer  flanks  of  the  hill, 
in  the  later  stages  of  the  construction),  and  with  occasional  thin  layers 
of  material  consisting  mainly  of  ashes,  discoloured  sand,  and  charred 
matter,  formed  the  mass  of  the  entire  mound.  And  the  work  was 
completed  when  the  hill  had  reached  an  altitude  of  7  feet  (probably 
9  or  10  when  the  pile  was  newly  heaped,  and  before  its  inevitable 
consolidation  and  consequent  subsidence),  and  spread  over  an  area 
of  55  yards  in  circumference;  the  basin  above  being  about  18  or  20 
inches  deep  at  its  centre.  This  hill  literally  abounded  in  flint. 
Flakes,  rude  arrow-heads,  chipped  blocks  of  small  size,  were  met  with 
in  quantities  ;  as  also  two  or  three  circular  cutting  implements,  rubbed 
down  and  polished  after  being  chipped ;  all  mixed  up  in  the  general 
material  of  the  houe,  and  especially  at  about  6  or  8  inches  depth,  or 
just  where  the  black  soil  of  the  surface  was  beginning  to  be  replaced 
by  the  piled-up  sand.  This  was  the  more  remarkable,  partly  because 
a  very  minute  and  indistinguishable  trace  of  metal  was  found  among 
the  bones,  and  partly  because  in  four  or  five  other  hills,  all  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  this,  flint  was  found  in  very  small  quantity 

*  For  a  memoir  of  this  gentleman,  and  a  notice  of  his  latest  work,  "  Ten  Years' 
Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Grave-hills,"  see  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  Oct.,  i86l, 
p.  450. 


214  Encampments,  EaTthzvorks,  Etc. 

indeed,   and   in  two  cases   not   any  trace  whatever   could  be  dis- 
covered. 

In  another  tumulus  of  somewhat  less  area  than  the  last,  but  fully 
equal  in  height,  situate  (with  three  others)  on  a  ridge  about  a  mile  to 
the  westward,  the  principle  of  construction  was  as  widely  different  as 
can  well  be  imagined.  The  natural  soil  had  been  removed  to  some 
little  depth,  over  an  area  of  12  feet  in  diameter.  In  the  centre  of 
this  area  two  flat  slabs  of  stone  had  been  set  up,  with  their  ends  resting 
against  each  other,  just  as  in  building  a  "  card-house  "  the  two  first 
cards  are  placed  resting  against  and  so  as  mutually  to  support  each 
other.  Then,  leaning  against  the  edges  of  these,  and  approaching 
each  other  above,  two  other  flat  slabs  were  placed,  and  round  the 
nucleus  thus  obtained  a-  succession  of  stones  was  piled,  on  the  same 
principle,  until  a  kind  of  first  story  of  equal  dimensions  with  the 
cleared  area  was  completed.  On  the  platform  thus  obtained,  a 
second  and  similar  story,  but  of  less  diameter,  was  constructed  ;  and 
on  this  a  third,  smaller  again  ;  and  so  on,  until  the  pile  was  finished 
with  an  upper  surface  of  about  4  feet  in  diameter,  the  perpendicular 
height  of  the  whole  being  not  less  than  9  feet.  In  different  parts  of 
this  elaborate  structure  (reminding  one,  and  especially  with  the 
circular  action  of  the  arm  employed  by  a  working  man  in  describing 
it,  of  the  old  prints  of  the  tower  of  Babel)  there  were  contrived  four 
small  cists  or  chambers,  each  containing  a  deposit  of  burnt  bones  and 
charcoal.  Besides,  an  urn  was  found,  very  soon  after  the  excavation 
was  commenced,  near  the  southernmost  member  of  the  houe,  filled 
with  calcined  bones  and  charcoal ;  and  the  fragments  of  another  in  a 
different  part.  The  whole  pile  of  stones  was  covered  with  a  con- 
siderable thickness  of  stony  earth,  so  as  to  give  the  houe-form  to  the 
entire  structure.  Probably  the  urns  both  belonged  to  secondary 
deposits. 

Again,  a  third  barrow,  lying  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  south- 
east of  the  basin-houe  first  described,  was  examined  by  the  writer 
on  the  5th  and  7th  of  November.  There  were  some  suggestions 
about  the  surface,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  centre,  of  a  previous 
disturbance  of  the  hill ;  which  hardly  seemed  to  be  weakened  by  the 
discovery  of  considerable  quantities  of  charcoal  at  the  depth  of  only 
a  few  inches  from  the  outside.  Commencing  a  trench  from  the 
north  toward  the  centre,  it  almost  immediately  became  apparent  that 
the  tumulus  was  of  a  composite  character.  The  left  side  of  the 
trench  passed  through  heaped  sand,  the  right  through  a  pile  of  loose 
stones  with  open  interstices.  Charcoal  was  found  abundantly  on  the 
floor  to  the  right,  none  at  all  to  the  left.  Attention  was  principally 
directed,  therefore,  to  the  cairn  part  of  the  hill ;  but  as  the  trench 
had  to  be  pushed  forward  toward  the  centre  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  working  room,  a  chance  stroke  of  the  spade  revealed  the 
presence  of  much  charcoal  on  that  side  also,  some  distance  above 


Traces  of  our  Remote  Ancestors.  2 1 5 

the  floor ;  and  a  second  discovered  an  urn  well  filled  with  clean 
burnt  bones,  and  in  an  inverted  position.  The  uppermost  part  of  it 
could  not  have  been  1 5  inches  below  the  surface,  and  it  was  quite 
unprotected  by  stone-work  of  any  kind  from  the  pressure  of  the 
overlying  earth.  The  latter,  however,  seemed  to  have  been  hardened 
by  some  means  or  other  so  as  to  form  a  slight  kind  of  roof.  On 
removing  the  surrounding  sand  and  charcoal,  a  very  beautiful 
urn,  of  about  9  inches  high  by  7  inches  in  diameter  at  the  mouth, 
was  laid  bare,  perfect  on  one  side,  but  with  the  other  distorted  and 
crushed  (partly  inwards  and  partly  out)  by  the  pressure  of  the 
overlying  earth.  It  is  of  very  fine  ware,  elaborately  decorated  round 
the  rim  in  quasi  panels,  by  short  horizontal  lines  alternating  with 
vertical  ones,  all  formed  by  pressing  a  twisted  thong  into  the  soft 
clay.  Below  the  rim  as  far  as  the  rib  plain  strokes  in  a  reticulated 
pattern  form  the  ornamentation.  In  close  contact  with  this  urn  was 
found  a  javelin-head,  much  blunted,  of  reddish  flint ;  and,  in  the 
charcoal  just  within  its  mouth,  two  splinters  of  some  other  flint 
instrument,  flown  in  the  burning.     [See/^^/,  p.  224.] 

Turning  next  to  pursue  the  indications  given  on  the  west  side  of 
the  trench,  a  second  urn,  also  inverted,  was  before  long  found,  with 
its  mouth  sunk  a  little  below  the  level  of  the  natural  soil.  There  was 
no  cist,  and  the  stones  which  lay  nearest  round  and  above  it  were  of 
no  marked  dimensions  or  character.  One  or  two  lay  in  contact  with 
the  urn,  and  part  of  its  exterior  had  been  abraded  by  their  pressure. 

On  removing  this  urn  it  was  found  to  be  perfectly  empty,  of  less 
size  than  the  last,  of  very  much  coarser  ware,  and  at  least  twice  the 
thickness.  The  rim,  which  is  rather  deep  in  comparison  with  the 
whole  height,  is  marked  with  six  or  seven  longitudinal  impressions  of 
the  twisted  thong.  Further  careful  search  showed  that  the  urn  had 
been  inverted  over  a  deposit  of  simple  charcoal  placed  in  a  circular- 
shaped  hole,  8  inches  in  diameter  by  12  or  13  deep,  sunk  in  the 
natural  soil.  There  was  not  a  vestige  of  bone ;  but  in  the  uppermost 
layers  of  charcoal  a  splinter  of  what  had  probably  been  a  quartz 
hammer  or  axe,  and  a  very  rude  arrow-head  of  porphyry.  Not  a 
vestige  of  flint  could  be  discovered  anywhere. 

A  comparison  of  the  urns,  and  of  the  accompanying  weapons,  at 
once  suggests  the  idea  that  the  urn  first  met  with  is  a  secondary 
deposit,  and  that  the  vase  found  second  belongs  to  a  comparatively 
most  remote  period  of  the  Celtic  era. 

The  dimensions  of  this  tumulus  were  37  feet  in  diameter,  with  a 
central  height  of  about  2f.  Very  near  it  lies  a  so-called  camp,  82 
feet  in  diameter,  inclusive  of  the  vallum,  which  is  16  feet  in  thickness 
at  a  point  where  the  distance  through  it  is  least.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  enclosure  the  base  of  the  vallum  is  not  less  than  23  or  24 
feet  through ;  though  it  may  be  surmised  that  this  greater  width  is  in 


2i6  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

some  measure  due  to  a  removal  of  part  of  the  crest  of  the  bank,  and 
the  deposit  of  the  moved  matter  at  its  foot. 

A  somewhat  similar  enclosure,  or  "camp,"  is  seen  close  to  another 

tumulus  situate  about  half  a   mile   to   the   south-west  of  this  just 

mentioned.     It   is,  however,   oval  instead  of  circular,   and  with  a 

longer  diameter  of  about  38  yards  within  the  vallum,  which  is  about 

4  yards  thick  at  the  base.     The  tumulus  near  it  is  nearly  50  feet  in 

diameter,  and  nowhere  so  much  as  4  feet  in  elevation  above  the 

surrounding  moor.     It  is  also  a  mere  mound,   with  no  regular  or 

defined  slope  from  the  edge  to  the  centre.     Sand,  ashes,  and  charred 

matter   (probably  ling  or  turf)  are  the  constituents  of  which  it  is 

formed ;  and,  on  examination,  it  was  found  to  contain  a  deposit  of 

burnt  bones,  in  an  entirely  plain  urn  of  12  inches  high,  by  9^  across 

the   mouth.     This   urn,    too,  was  placed  mouth   downwards   upon 

charcoal    just   above    the    natural   level,    and   with    absolutely   no 

protection  from  the  pressure  of  the  superincumbent  and  adjacent 

soil :  still  it  was  entire.     It  is  of  much  more  friable  ware  than  either 

of  the  others  found  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  maintains  its  shape 

almost  unchanged.     The  actual  discovery  of  this  urn  was  made  by 

the  cutting  of  a  piece  completely  out  of  the  bottom  and  side  with  a 

shovel ;  and  at  first  sight  it  appeared  that  all  the  bottom  and  parts 

adjacent  had  never  been  fired  at  all,  for  there  was  a  smooth  surface 

of  perfectly  plastic  yellow  clay  exposed  in  the  clean  cut  made  by  the 

tool,  while  all  the  parts  about  the  rim,  and  as  far  as  the  rib,  appeared 

to  be  fairly  baked.    Closer  and  more  deliberate  examination,  however, 

showed  that  the  plastic  clay  was  merely  a  cap  carefully  applied  and 

kneaded  to  the  bottom  and  lower  sides  of  the  urn,  with  the  view 

(beyond  doubt)  of  throwing  off  whatever  moisture  should  chance  to 

percolate  through  the  overlying  soil :  a  precaution  so  effectual  that 

the  rains  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  centuries  had  had  no  power  to 

penetrate   to   the   dry  calcined  bones  enclosed.     This  is  the  only 

instance  of  the  kind  the  writer  has  met  with ;  and  it  does  not  appear 

from  the  late  Mr.  Bateman's  book  that  any  precisely  analogous  one 

had  offered  itself  to  his  observation.     Not  many  feet  from  the  urn 

just  named,  a  second  deposit — apparently  a  secondary  one — of  burnt 

bones,  protected  only  by  a  flat  stone  about  12  inches  square,  was 

found.     But  neither  with  it,  nor  with  the  urn,  nor  in  any  other  part 

of  the  tumulus,  was  a  trace  of  wrought  flint,  or  any  fragment  of  flint 

save  half  a  small  rolled  pebble,  to  be  discovered.     As  far  as  one  can 

conjecture  from  the  characteristics  of  the  urn,  the  interment  must 

have  been  of  very  remote  antiquity. 

Since  the  earlier  part  of  these  notes  has  been  committed  to  paper, 
the  writer  has  discovered,  on  a  different  part  of  the  moors,  undoubted 
traces  of  dwellings  precisely  similar  to  those  mentioned  in  his  former 
paper  (alluded  to  above)  as  situate  on  the  Danby  North  Moors,  only 
very  much  fewer  in  number.     He  believes  they  have  never  hitherto 


Further  Diggings  in  Celtic  Grave-Places.     217 


been  noticed ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  now  that  others  also  may  be 
traced  in  or  near  the  same  locality. 

Further  Diggings  in  Celtic  Grave-Places. 

[1863,  Part  I.,  pp.  440-444-] 

On  the  moors  mentioned  by  the  writer  in  his  former  communica- 
tions are  many  ancient  enclosures,  the  usual  terms  for  which  are 
"  Druidical  circles,"  or  "  camps."  Thus,  on  the  ridge  which  lies  to 
the  east  of  the  writer's  residence  there  are  still  four  of  these  enclosed 
spaces,  while  on  the  moors,  a  little  further  to  the  north,  there  are  as 
many  more.  Usually  these  enclosures  are  circular  in  form ;  but  in 
three  of  the  instances  on  the  north  moors  they  are  oval,  and  in  one  of 
the  others  nearly,  but  not  regularly,  circular. 

The  term  "camp,"  as  applied  to  any  of  these  enclosures,  appears 
to  be  misplaced  ;  for,  speaking  generally,  the  enclosing  ring  or  work 
is  too  slight  and  low  to  have  afforded  any  effectual  defence ;  and, 
besides,  the  dimensions  of  the  space  enclosed  seem  to  be  too  small 
for  a  place  of  strength.  Thus,  the  largest  of  the  eight  under  notice 
scarcely  exceeds  80  feet  in  diameter  over  all ;  while  the  least,  an  oval 
one,  is  not  more  than  25  feet  across,  by  a  little  over  twice  that  length. 
Near  this  last  there  is  no  tumulus ;  but  in  each  of  the  other  three 
cases  on  the  north  moors  there  is  a  houe  closely  adjacent,  and  all 
these  houes  have  been  found  to  contain  an  urn,  one  of  them  two. 

There  is,  of  course,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  usual  designations,  the 
theory  that  these  enclosures  may  have  served  some  purpose  in  the 
living  economy  of  the  personages  whose  remains  were  afterwards 
deposited  in  the  adjacent  tumuli;  but  in  the  absence  of  any  real  data 
on  which  to  found  such  theory,  it  has  appeared  to  the  writer  more 
reasonable  to  seek  some  other  explanation  of  their  use  and  purpose. 
Had  they  been  intended  for  an  everyday  object — for  instance,  a 
cattle-yard,  or  enclosing  fence  to  a  dwelling — it  seemed  that  there 
must  have  been  some  evident  place  of  entrance,  which  there  is  not  in 
any  of  them  ;  besides  which,  any  other  shape  would  have  served 
equally  well  with  a  symmetrical  one,  and  been  much  more  easy  to 
follow  out  in  the  process  of  construction.  While,  then,  the  unbroken 
circular  or  oval  vallum  seemed  to  hint  that,  possibly,  the  enclosures 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  common  objects  of  daily  life,  the  so-called 
"  Druid-stone  in  the  earthen  ring,  with  its  usual  substratum  of  sand- 
stone, 42  feet  in  diameter,"*  and  the  gaps  which  showed  where  other 
like  monoliths  had  stood  before  their  removal  by  the  country  road- 
maker,  suggested  that  (at  least  in  that  case)  the  purpose  might  be 
sepulchral. 

About  two  months  since  the  writer  had  an  opportunity  of  testing 
his  theory  as  to  this  particular  ring.     Commencing  a  trench  near  the 

*  Gentleman^  Magazine,  May,  1861,  p.  506  {ante,  p.  209]. 


2i8  EncampmentSy  Earthworks,  Etc. 

centre  of  the  enclosed  space,  twenty  minutes'  work  revealed  the  pre- 
sence of  much  charcoal ;  and,  within  an  hour,  an  urn  was  discovered. 
While  busily  engaged  in  excavating  round  this,  the  writer  found  that 
he  was  in  actual  contact  with  a  second.  It  was  comparatively  easy 
to  remove  the  first ;  but,  with  regard  to  the  other,  from  its  great  size, 
the  much  greater  depth  at  which  it  was  placed,  the  hardening  of  a 
part  of  the  circumjacent  soil  into  the  consistency  of  stone  from  the 
admixture  of  a  portion  of  the  calcined  bones  of  the  deposit,  it  was  a 
work  of  time  and  toil  and  patience  to  effect  its  removal  unbroken. 

Both  of  these  urns  were  placed  mouth  downwards,*  and  both  con- 
tained charcoal  and  burnt  bones,  together  with  a  considerable 
quantity  of  the  moor  soil  and  sand  which  had  worked  in  from  above 
and — at  least,  in  the  case  of  the  larger  one — forced  a  portion  of  the 
original  deposit  out.  For,  from  having  been  placed  with  their  upper 
portions  within  i8  inches  of  the  surface,  they  had  both  become 
disintegrated  above,  and  no  trace  whatever  of  the  bottom  of  the 
large  one  could  be  found  ;  of  the  lesser,  a  small  fragment  only,  but 
sufficient  to  determine  its  dimensions.  The  larger  urn,  which  had 
almost  certainly  been  the  original  interment,  is  iif  inches  across  the 
mouth.  The  rim  is  about  3^  inches  deep.  The  diameter  at  the 
lower  edge  of  'the  rim  (which  projects  |-  inch  from  the  body  of 
the  urn)  is  14  inches.  From  the  bottom  of  the  rim  to  the  point  of 
greatest  diameter  is  nearly  4  inches,  and  the  total  height  of  the  urn 
cannot  have  been  less  than  18  to  20  inches.  As  it  is,  upwards  of 
16  inches  from  the  mouth  remains,  and  the  outline  is  such  as  to  show 
that  the  bottom  must  have  been  at  least  3  inches  lower. 

The  mouth  is  bevelled  upwards,  and  then  flanged  inwards,  so  that 
a  superficial  glance  would  lead  to  the  notion  that  the  substance  of 
the  vessel  there  could  not  be  less  than  i^  inches  thick.  The  orifice 
is  thus  contracted  to  a  trifle  less  than  9  inches.  Both  the  bevelled 
edge  and  the  flange  are  freely  marked  with  uncial  marks,  arranged 
in  two  rings.  The  rim  is  marked  with  a  series  of  short  parallel 
impressions  of  a  twisted  thong,  about  ten  in  each  panel,  and  alter- 
nately vertical  and  horizontal.  Besides,  round  the  line  of  greatest 
diameter  is  a  ring  of  impressions  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  small 
bean. 

The  other  urn  is  of  finer  ware,  much  more  elaborately  ornamented, 
but  sadly  imperfect.  It  was  set  mouth  downwards  on  a  small  flag  or 
flat  stone,  and  it  would  appear  that  all  the  rim  had  been  removed 
previous  to  its  being  deposited ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  what  is  the 

*  It  has  been  remarked  that  if  an  urn  be  found  with  its  mouth  downwards 
a  second  may  always  be  looked  for  in  the  same  tumulus.  In  four  distinct  instances 
on  these  moors  the  writer  is  able  to  verify  the  remark,  three  of  which  have  occurred 
under  his  own  hands  within  the  last  three  months.  This,  if  established  as  fact, 
would  be  interesting,  and  would  probably  open  the  question.  Does  the  inverted 
urn  betoken  in  all  cases  a  secondary  interment  ?  or,  Were  the  urns  deposited  at 
the  same  time,  and  do  they  betoken  two  separate  interments  ? 


Fiirther  Diggings  iii  Celtic  Grave- Places.     219 


actual  mouth  of  the  urn  as  it  is,  fits  evenly  on  to  the  stone,  as  true  as 
if  ground  so,  which  would  not  have  been  the  case  had  the  rim  been 
forced  off  subsequently  to  deposit;  and  secondly,  the  only  portion  of 
the  rim  recovered  was  obtained  from  the  charcoal  and  sand  envelop- 
ing the  upper  portions  of  the  vessel,  and  had  it  been  broken  off  by 
mere  after-pressure  from  above,  it  would  have  been  found  at  least  in 
contact  with  the  flag,  if  not  with  the  vessel  from  which  it  had  been 
broken. 

The  portion  of  rim  seems  to  have  been  profusely  ornamented,  so 
much  so  as  to  give  the  idea  of  fretwork  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  make 
out  either  design  or  detail.  The  space  between  the  rim  and  line  of 
greatest  diameter  is  decorated  with  a  reticulated  pattern,  made  with 
short  carefully  twisted  thongs  ;  and  this  is  guarded  below  by  an  en- 
circling ring  of  chevrons  similarly  produced.  This  ornamentation  is 
very  carefully  and  beautifully  done,  and  shows  a  wide  contrast  to  the 
usual  careless  scratches  found  on  this  part  of  the  urn.  The  whole 
form  of  the  urn,  too,  was  most  graceful ;  the  total  height  having  been 
a  little  over  nine  inches,  the  diameter  of  the  mouth  rather  more  than 
seven,  and  of  the  bottom  not  quite  four. 

Encouraged  by  the  results  attending  the  examination  of  this  ring, 
the  writer  proceeded  to  investigate  another,  and  considerably  larger 
one,  lying  about  half  a  mile  more  to  the  south.  The  dimensions  of 
the  last,  over  all,  were  from  40  to  42  feet,  and  the  enclosing  ring  was 
probably  6  feet  thick  at  the  base,  and  not  less  than  3^-  to  4  in 
original  height.  Large  flat  stones,  5^  to  6  feet  high,  by  3  or  more 
wide,  stood,  one  in  each  cardinal  point,  rather  in  the  inner  portion  of 
the  ring ;  and  the  size  of  the  constituent  stones  of  the  vallum  seemed 
to  diminish  upwards.  Of  the  ring  now  to  be  examined  only  a  small 
portion  was  left ;  but  enough  to  make  it  more  than  probable  that  it, 
too,  had  been  6  feet  in  thickness  at  bottom,  and  formed  of  stone,  the 
size  of  which  lessened  as  the  wall  grew  higlier.  The  height  of  the 
vallum  could  scarcely  have  been  less  than  4  to  5  feet,  and  the  outer 
edge  of  it  seems  to  have  been  alike  formed  and  guarded  with  large 
stones,  set  so  as  to  show  a  flat  external  side  of  some  extent.  The 
diameter,  over  all,  is  fully  60  feet.  Almost  in  the  exact  centre  of  this 
ring  there  was  found  an  excavation  of  nearly  6  feet  in  diameter  and 
about  4I  in  depth,  carried  down  to,  and  partly  quarried  out  of,  the 
rock.  This  was  filled  with  loose  stones  of  no  great  size,  but  which 
unfortunately  had  been  disturbed  at  some  former  period,  and  the 
deposit — for  no  doubt  there  had  been  one — had  been  removed,  and 
the  stones  thrown  back  into  the  rifled  cavity.  Still  the  character  of 
the  ring  was  ascertained  in  this  instance  also.  The  other  like  en- 
closures on  this  moor  remain  for  examination,  which  will  be  effected 
as  soon  as  weather  and  opportunity  permit. 

The  whole  surface  of  the  adjoining  moor  is  studded  with  small 
houes,  some  of  them  not  more  than  12  or  15  feet  in   diameter,  and 


2  20  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

few  exceeding  i8  to  20,  with  a  height  of  httle  more  than  2  feet.  All 
of  them  are  formed  of  stones,  contain  very  little  earth  in  the  inter- 
stices, and  often  cover  a  slightly  rounded,  low  heap  of  the  yellow 
surface  sand  of  the  moor.  In  a  few  of  them  some  small  fragments  of 
charcoal  are  found,  scattered  up  and  down  through  a  small  thickness 
of  the  soil  covered  by  the  stones,  but  none  of  them  contain  any  other 
trace  of  interment  There  is  also  a  singular  scarcity  of  flint  in  any 
form  on  this  part  of  the  moor.  The  writer  found,  about  a  week  since, 
after  a  series  of  very  heavy  rains,  two  or  three  pieces  of  wrought  flint, 
which  either  had  been  "  saws,"  or  flaked  off  with  a  view  to  that  pur- 
pose, and  a  small  so-called  "  thumb-flint." 

Among  these  very  numerous  small  houes  are  the  sites  or  the 
remains  of  several  much  larger  cairns,  the  materials  of  which  (in 
common  with  those  of  scores  of  the  smaller  ones,  and  of  no  less 
than  three  ancient  walls  of  great  size  and  thickness)  have  been 
taken  away,  in  the  course  of  ages,  by  the  farmers  in  the  dales 
below  to  mend  their  roads,  make  drains  in  their  fields,  and  form 
the  walls  of  their  enclosures.  Fragments  of  broken  pottery  and 
calcined  bone  having  been  found  by  the  writer  about  more  than 
one  of  these  sites,  there  is  no  uncertainty  about  their  original  pur- 
pose. 

There  still  remains  one  tumulus  on  the  same  ridge  to  be  men- 
tioned, which  stimulates  interest  and  curiosity  almost  as  much  as  its 
examination  baffles  both.  It  is  about  27  to  30  feet  in  diameter,  and 
nowhere  more  than  2  feet  high.  The  natural  soil,  below  the  peaty 
surface-soil  of  the  moor,  is  a  yellow  sand,  and  there  is  no  clay  in  situ 
within  several  hundred  yards  of  the  place.  On  cutting  into  the 
eastern  edge  of  this  hill,  the  writer's  attention  was  instantly  arrested 
by  two  very  unusual  circumstances  :  first,  the  entire  substance  of  the 
houe  was  black,  much  of  it  being  merely  charcoal  (in  small  frag- 
ments) and  charred  matter ;  next  there  was  the  fact  that  the  action  of 
the  fire  had  produced  the  effect  of  fusion  on  at  least  a  part  of  the 
materials  subjected  to  it.  His  idea  at  first  was,  from  the  density  of 
the  masses  dug  out  and  their  general  resemblance  to  the  slag  found 
in  such  vast  quantities  here  (and  forming  the  evidences  of  very  ancient 
and  exceedingly  extensive  iron-smelting),  that  he  had  lit  upon  the 
site  of  an  excessively  ancient  iron-furnace.  However,  closer  examina- 
tion showed  that  the  fusion  in  many  cases  was  only  partial,  and  that 
beneath  the  fused  surface,  clay,  more  or  less  burnt,  was  present.  This 
clay  is  nearly  white,  very  smooth  and  plastic,  something  resembhng 
ordinary  pipeclay,  and  appears  to  have  been  brought  from  the  other 
side  of  the  ridge  (about  half  a  mile)  for  some  purpose  ;  and  it  seemed 
that,  where  it  lay  in  contact  with  the  surface  sand,  and  was  exposed 
to  the  strong  heat  of  the  fire,  there  fusion  had  taken  place.  But  why 
it  had  been  brought,  to  what  purpose  it  had  been  applied,  there  was 
nothing  whatever  to  show.     In  some  instances  masses  of  several 


Further  Dip-^ino-s  in  Celtic  Grave-Places.      221 


^i>&> 


inches  long  and  broad,  and  an  inch  thick,  have  been  thoroughly 
melted.  A  few  broken  and  scattered  fragments  of  an  earthen  vessel 
were  found  about  one  part  of  the  hill,  which,  from  the  general  look 
of  the  pottery,  the  shape  of  the  rim,  and  the  dimensions  generally, 
one  would  be  much  more  inclined  to  pronounce  Anglo-Saxon  than 
Celtic.  The  ware  is  hard,  dark-coloured,  and  well  burnt,  but  must 
have  been  broken  for  ages  ;  and  is  so  faulty  in  fabric  that  one  could 
hardly  help  fancying  it  might  have  been  rejected  as  worthless  from 
the  first.  The  writer  almost  hoped  to  find  other  broken  fragments 
to  warrant  him  in  the  notion  that  a  "  manufactory  "  had  existed  here; 
but  there  is  no  ground  for  that  theory,  so  far. 

Another  large  tumulus  has  been  lately  under  examination  by  the 
writer,  but  almost  without  tangible  result.  It  is  not  less  than  80  feet 
in  diameter,  and  about  6  feet  high  in  the  centre,  and  situate  a  few 
hundred  yards  south-east  of  Freeburgh  Hill.  A  ring  of  stones,  many 
of  them  of  large  dimensions,  quite  covered  by  the  material  of  the 
houe,  and  not  very  regular  in  outline,  runs  round  the  central  portion 
at  a  distance  of  7  or  8  feet  from  the  outer  edge  of  the  tumulus. 
Charcoal  is  interspersed  throughout  the  mass,  but  not  in  large  quantities 
anywhere.  Opening  a  wide  trench  on  the  south  flank,  another  was 
directed  out  of  it  through  the  assumed  centre  :  a  little  to  the  east  of 
this  point  a  pile  of  loose  stones  was  found,  about  6  feet  in  diameter 
at  the  bottom  and  nearly  3  feet  high.  The  whole  pile  was  carefully 
capped  with  a  convex  layer  or  roof  of  wrought  yellow  clay ;  and 
many  of  the  constituent  stones  were  blocks  of  basalt,  derived,  of 
course,  from  the  "  Dyke  "  which  runs  across  the  country  about  three 
miles  south  of  the  houe ;  the  entire  pile  was  most  carefully  removed 
by,  or  under  the  eye  of,  the  writer,  but  nothing  whatever  was  found. 
Under  them  was  a  surface  of  bluish  clay,  about  3  inches  thick,  and 
under  that  15  inches  of  strong  yellow  clay,  which,  in  its  turn,  lay 
upon  very  hard,  compact  yellow  sand,  that  presented  not  the  slightest 
appearance  of  ever  having  been  moved.  The  hill  was  then  cut 
through  to  the  south,  and  excavation  carried  on  all  round  the  centre, 
until  a  space  of  nearly  5  yards  wide  was  completely  examined,  besides 
carrying  another  trench  out  to  the  west  side.  But  nothing  further  re- 
warded our  labours. 

It  should  perhaps  be  added  to  the  notice  of  the  rings  mentioned 
above,  that  not  the  slightest  trace  of  any  mound  or  pile  exists  in  any 
of  them. 

[1863,  Pari  I.,  pp.  708-713-] 

Since  the  date  of  the  writer's  last  communication,  four  entirely 
fresh  houes  have  been  examined  by  him,  besides  further  investiga- 
tions in  two  or  three  others,  which  still  seemed  to  afford  scope  for 
inquiry.  The  results  may  be  described  as  follows  : — in  two,  con- 
structed on  coincident  principles,  all  tokens  of  sepulchral  deposit 


222  Encampments,  Earthzuorks,  Etc. 

were  wanting ;  in  three,  fragments  only  of  the  urn  originally 
containing  the  deposit,  in  conjunction  with  portions  of  the  calcined 
bones  and  accompanying  charcoal,  Avere  obtained ;  in  a  sixth, 
undisturbed  but  most  inadequate  evidences  of  interment  were  met 
with. 

In  the  case  last  specified,  the  tumulus  was  of  a  very  slightly  ob- 
trusive nature.  It  was  so  low  as  to  require  a  little  exercise  of  faith 
as  to  its  being  a  grave-hill  at  all,  and  except  when  the  sun  was  waxing 
low  in  the  heavens,  and  the  longer  shadows  aided  the  eye,  it  might 
easily  be  passed  by  without  distinct  notice.  The  circumstance,  how- 
ever, that  it  lay  near  another  low,  not  very  conspicuous  tumulus,  from 
which  the  writer  had  taken  an  urn  not  many  months  before,  induced 
him  to  resolve  on  ascertaining  its  character.  Its  dimensions  were 
about  45  feet  in  diameter,  by  i^-  in  greatest  height.  On  removing  a 
portion  of  the  black  or  surface  soil,  which  was  of  more  than  average 
thickness,  a  surface  of  sand  was  exposed  which  presented  no  appear- 
ance of  any  former  disturbance,  and  seemed  at  once  to  negative  the 
idea  that  the  apparent  tumulus  was  really  artificial.  A  second  com- 
mencement was  then  made  near  the  centre,  about  which  a  few  small 
stones  were  met  with,  scarcely  covered  by  the  surface  soil.  On  re- 
moving these,  the  same  yellow  sand  as  that  below  the  black  earth 
of  the  circumjacent  moor  was  found,  and  it  was  only  the  fact  that  a 
stone  of  some  apparent  dimensions  resisted  the  spade  at  about  i8 
to  20  inches  deep  that  gave  any  encouragement  to  further  search. 
However,  on  laying  bare  the  stone  in  question,  which  was  about  2 
feet  by  li  in  superficial  measurement,  some  fragments  of  charcoal 
were  seen  upon  its  upper  surface,  while  below  it,  more  charcoal,  as 
well  as  other  traces  of  a  considerable  fire,  presented  themselves.  Re- 
turning to  the  point  at  which  the  first  opening  had  been  made,  a 
tolerably  wide  cutting  was  directed  so  as  to  pass  through  the  centre 
and  to  lay  bare  an  area  of  several  feet  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
aforesaid  large  stone.  At  the  distance  of  about  7  or  8  feet  from  the 
centre,  a  barrier  of  stone-work  was  cut  through,  and  in  the  process  of 
removing  this  it  seemed  to  become  more  than  probable  that  there 
had  been  two  fires  upon  the  spot ;  one  at  a  lower  level,  which  had 
then  been  covered  with  a  layer  of  sand  some  inches  thick,  on  which 
in  its  turn  the  second  fire  had  then  been  lighted.  On  the  level  of 
the  lower  fire,  and  at  a  distance  of  3  to  4  feet  east  of  the  large  stone, 
an  irregularly  circular  excavation,  about  19  inches  by  17,  was  observed, 
quite  filled  up  with  charcoal  and  dark-coloured  soil,  with  a  few  frag- 
ments of  calcined  bone  intermingled.  From  the  lighter  nature  of  the 
contents  of  the  hole  a  dull  echo  was  given  when  the  tool  or  a  clod 
of  earth  fell  upon  the  dark  surface ;  which  led  to  the  confident  ex- 
pectation that  there  was  an  urn  below,  but  nearly  or  entirely  empty. 
But  the  expectation  was  not  to  be  realized :  only  two  or  three  frag- 
ments, which  might  have  been  burnt  clay,  were  discovered  in  clearing 


Further  Diggings  in  Celtic  Gj'ave-P laces.     '''>^ 


-'-  o 


the  hole  carefully  out.  Much  labour  was  spent  in  turning  over  other 
parts  of  the  hill,  and  in  following  down  traces  of  charcoal  and 
"  forced  "  earth  which  showed  themselves  in  various  places  and  reached 
to  a  depth  of  4  or  5  feet  from  the  surface,  but  all  to  no  purpose  :  no 
further  discovery  was  made. 

The  excavation  which  contained  the  charcoal  and  bones  was  made 
in  a  pocket,  or  small  bed,  of  light  yellow  clay  which  intruded  amid 
the  staple  sand  at  that  part  of  the  bottom  of  the  hill  ;  and  it  would 
seem  that  this  had  cracked  under  the  influence  of  the  heat  of  the 
fires,  and  that  into  the  cracks  thus  formed  there  had  infiltrated  inter- 
mingled ashes  and  charcoal ;  as  also  had  been  the  case  in  several 
long,  nearly  vertical  holes,  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  or  thereabouts. 
And  this,  until  repeated  experiments  had  been  made,  and  the  means 
by  which  the  charcoal,  etc.,  had  reached  the  places  in  which  it  was 
detected  had  been  made  out,  led  to  repeated  disappointments. 

There  seemed  little  reason  to  doubt  that  the  sand  had  been 
removed  from  the  basal  area  of  this  hill  previous  to  the  construction 
of  the  funeral  pile,  which  must  have  been  made  at  least  a  foot  below 
the  surrounding  surface  ;  and  the  second  fire  in  proportion  ;  and  that 
then  the  sand  and  soil  so  removed,  with  very  little  addition  from  other 
sources,  had  been  returned  to  form  this  unobtrusive  grave-mound. 
Still  the  apparent  absence  of  any  principal  deposit  is  very  perplexing. 

Both  of  those  houes  in  which  all  traces  of  deposit  were  wanting, 
and  which  seem  to  be  constructed  on  coincident  principles,  were  of 
large  size,  though  one  was  much  larger  than  the  other  :  the  smaller 
being  about  45  to  50  feet  over  all,  by  3I  high  ;  the  larger  65  feet 
through  by  fully  6  or  6i  high.  In  both  There  was  a  quasi  wall  of 
stone,  concentric  with  the  outline  of  the  hill,  but  so  far  within  the 
outer  limit  as  to  be  quite  covered  over  by  the  material  of  the  houe. 
In  both,  again,  this  wall,  which  in  places  consisted  of  large  stones  set 
up  edgewise,  and  elsewhere  was  formed  much  as  an  ordinary  "  dry 
stone  wall  "  is,  did  not  fully  encircle  the  centre,  but  guarded  only* 
the  southern  and  western  sides,  appearing  to  cover  an  arc  of  somewhat 
more  than  180°.  In  both,  moreover,  there  was  a  central  conical  pile 
of  stones,  or  "  cairn,"  of  about  6  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and 
rising  to  a  height  of  nearly  or  quite  3  feet.  In  both  of  them  there 
were  traces  of  charcoal  interspersed,  but  nowhere  in  any  quantity, 
through  the  substance  of  the  hill.  But  in  neither  of  them  was  there 
any  evidence  of  a  fire  made  upon  the  spot  :  there  was  no  bottom 
layer  of  ashes  or  calcined  sand,  nor  any  discoloration  of  stones  and 
earth  such  as  to  point  back  to  their  subjection  to  great  heat,  neither 
was  there  in  either  of  them  the  slightest  trace  of  a  deposit,  whether 
of  calcined  bones  or  the  entire  body  of  a  departed  Celt. 

It  seems  impossible  to  suppose  that  such  structures  were  raised  as 

*  The  same  remark  holds  good  of  the  "barrier  of  stone  "  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
ceding description  of  the  low  houe,  p.  70S  {ante,  p.  222]. 


2  24  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

cenotaphs,  and  much  less  for  no  purpose  at  all.  There  is  no  analogy 
to  lead  to  the  adoption  of  the  idea  that  their  purpose  was  other  than 
sepulchral,  and  the  only  rational  hypothesis  that  is  left  seems  to  be 
that  they  are  each  the  site  of  an  extremely  ancient  burial  of  an  un- 
burnt  body,  which,  deposited  beneath  the  loose  stones  of  the  cairn, 
and  without  any  approach  to  such  protection  as  is  afforded  by  any 
species  whatever  of  cist,  has  decayed  entirely  through  the  lapse  of 
time  and  left  no  trace  at  all  behind.  This  supposition  is,  possibly, 
also  strengthened  by  the  total  absence  of  pottery  and  flints  in  both 
the  hills  in  question. 

In  the  grave-hill  mentioned  in  a  former  paper,  as  affording  a 
deposit  of  calcined  bones  on  the  natural  surface,  unprotected  by  urn  or 
cist,*  further  research  has  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  fragments  of  a 
large  and  massive  urn,  and  part  of  its  contents,  charcoal  and  calcined 
human  bones.  These  were  met  with  at  a  depth  of  a  few  inches  from 
the  surface  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  houe,  and  had  evidently  been 
placed  there  at  a  very  remote  period,  after  their  removal  from  the 
central  part  of  the  tumulus.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  stated 
that  the  butt  of  an  oak  sapling  was  found  let  into  the  centre  of  the 
houe.  There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  in  sinking  the  hole  to 
admit  this  post  (or  "  stoup,"  or  "  stang,"  in  the  language  of  the  district) 
the  urn  had  been  dug  upon  and  virtually  destroyed,  but  that  such 
portions  as  could  be  removed  tolerably  entire  were,  together  with  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  contents  of  the  urn,  re-interred  where  the 
writer  found  them.  Re-interred ;  for  they  were  all  lying  together,  and 
were  placed  below  the  surface-soil.  Who  will  undertake  to  say  that 
they  were  not  disturbed,  and  thus  re-interred  by  one  to  whom  urn- 
burialt  was  not  yet  a  thing  of  the  past  ? 

The  grave-hill  which  has  next  to  be  noticed  presented  several  points 
of  peculiar  interest.  It  was  very  symmetrical  in  form,  of  consider- 
able size,  probably  more  than  60  feet  in  diameter  and  6  feet  high  ; 
had  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  simple  flint  fragments  strewed 
over  it  at  the  depth  of  5  or  6  inches  from  the  surface — a  peculiarity 

"'  Gentleman^ s  Magazine,  Jan.,  1863,  p.  24  \ante,  p.  215]. 

f  It  is  well  known  that  the  ancient  Scandinavian  intending  settlers,  among 
other  modes  of  taking  possession  of  their  claim,  adopted  the  plan  of  setting  up  a 
pole,  or  stang.  Thus,  in  Landnaniabok,  a  worthy  who  had  been  "  prospecting  "  in 
Iceland,  and  had  taken  up  his  lot,  is  spoken  of  thus  :  Thitrsetti  hann  7iidur  staling 
hafd,  "There  he  erected  a  stang."  Now  there  are  in  this  district  several  localities 
whose  names  have  the  word  "stang"  as  a  prefix,  e.g.,  8tang-end,  near  Danby 
Dale-end ;  Stang-houe,  near  Skelton ;  Stang-houe  in  Nevvton-Mulgrave,  etc. 
There  is  scarcely  ground  for  doubting  that  all  these  names  are  due  to  the  erection 
of  a  "stang,"  or  post,  marking  a  boundary,  or  denoting  possession  ;  and,  from  the 
position  of  the  hill  mentioned  in  the  text,  taken  in  connection  with  the  boundaries 
which  have  continued  to  exist  since  the  date  of  the  Conquest,  while  it  is  scarcely 
probable  that  the  stoup  on  it  could  have  served  any  other  purpose  than  that  of  a 
boundary  mark,  it  is  certain  that  as  a  boundary  mark  it  must  have  been  such  ante- 
cedently to  the  Conqueror's  grant  of  the  land  it  stands  on. 


Further  Diggings  in  Celtic  Grave- Places.      225 

hitherto  observed  by  the  writer  in  but  one  other  instance  in  this  dis- 
trict ;  and  lastly,  contained  a  perfectly  defined  central  cist.  There 
was  reason  to  believe,  from  the  merest  inspection,  that  the  hill  had 
been  tampered  with  some  considerable  length  of  time  ago  ;  but  the 
area  of  operation  had  been  so  small,  and  there  were  so  few  external 
traces  of  considerable  disturbance,  that  it  was  hoped  no  great  mischief 
had  been  done. 

The  work  was  commenced  by  opening  a  cutting  from  the  north 
side  of  10  or  12  feet  in  width,  and  directing  it  through  the  centre  of 
the  hill.  Much  charcoal  was  almost  immediately  exposed  to  view, 
spread  through  the  substance  of  the  hill.  It  soon  appeared,  besides, 
that  the  basal  part  of  the  hill,  to  within  a  few  feet  of  its  outer  edge, 
consisted  of  a  platform  of  stones  (many  of  them  i-^  or  2  feet  square), 
and  which  maintained  a  general  height  of  nearly  2  feet.  Over  this 
platform  a  layer  of  whitish  sand  of  several  inches  in  thickness  was 
deposited,  and  over  this  the  general  soil  of  the  mound.  Nothing 
more  of  interest  was  observed  until  the  centre  was  reached,  when  a 
large  flat  stone  of  not  less  than  4^  feet  by  2  or  2%,  standing  vertically, 
was  uncovered. 

Excavation  being  continued  on  the  south  side  of  this  slab,  the 
existence  of  a  central  cist  was  disclosed ;  but  also  the  fact  that  it  had 
been  penetrated  to  before,  and  the  western  end  destroyed ;  and  that, 
in  fact,  the  large  vertical  stone  had  no  doubt  been  originally  the 
cover  or  cap-stone  of  the  cist.  The  writer  was  prepared  for  this  re- 
sult by  the  previous  discovery  of  a  few  broken  and  scattered  frag- 
ments of  an  urn,  found  among  the  substance  of  two  or  three  of  the 
surface-sods  which  had  been  removed  from  a  little  on  one  side  of 
what  had  been  once  the  apex  of  the  houe.  Proceeding  to  lay  the 
cist  quite  open,  other  remains  of  the  urn,  together  with  much  char- 
coal and  intermingled  charred  bone,  were  taken  up,  and  the  shape 
and  construction  of  the  grave-chamber  made  evident.  It  had  been 
as  nearly  4-^7  feet  long  as  it  was  possible  to  estimate,  and  something 
over  2\  feet  wide.  Each  side  had  been  formed  of  two  flat  stones,  or 
rude  flags,  set  edgewise,  and  of  such  size  as  to  have  an  inner  height  of 
about  2 1  inches  ;  while  the  two  ends  had  each  been  formed  by  two 
other  flags  set  so  as  to  converge  to  an  angle  or  apex  at  each  end.  It 
lay  almost  accurately  east  and  west,  and  the  eastern  end  remained  in 
its  exact  original  form.  The  whole  floor  of  the  cist  was  formed  of 
compact  yellow  clay,  apparently  wrought  into  its  place  by  a  kind  of 
puddling  process. 

The  writer,  in  addition  to  his  personal  acquaintance  with  the  in- 
terior of  a  considerable  number  of  the  Cleveland  houes,  possesses 
information  with  respect  to  a  great  number  of  others  opened  by  dif- 
ferent explorers  within  the  last  few  years,  and  is  only  aware  of  two 
decided  cases  of  central  cists  exclusive  of  this  one,  and  one  other  at 
least  probable  one,  which  has  come  under  his  own  eye.  It  may  be 
VOL.  V.  15 


2  26  Encampments,  Eai'thworks,  Etc. 

safely  said  that  nineteen  out  of  twenty  of  the  houes  here  have  not 
only  no  cist,  but  no  attempt  at  anything  like  one.  There  is  one  very 
perfect  specimen  on  the  Newton  Mulgrave  Moor,  in  which  the  cap- 
stone is  still  in  situ,  entrance  having  been  effected  through  the  side. 
Either  from  this  or  from  another  and  much  larger  houe  near  it  (the 
writer  has  not  been  able  to  ascertain  which),  a  bronze  dagger  was 
taken,  together  with  some  flint  arrow-heads  and  other  articles,  some 
five  or  six  years  since.  The  other  instance  was  in  the  case  of  a 
tumulus  opened  on  Bernaldby  Moor,  near  Guisborough,  in  the  year 
1843,  a  record  of  which  is  given  in  Ord's  "  History  of  Cleveland," 
pp.  106,  107. 

The  fragments  of  the  urn  which  were  recovered — some  from  the 
inside  of  the  cist  and  some  from  the  surface-sods  at  two  or  three 
different  points — were  sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of  its  probable  shape, 
size,  and  ornamentation.  The  rim  was  at  least  3f  inches  in  breadth, 
with  encircling  single  impressions  of  a  twisted  thong  near  both  its 
upper  and  lower  edges.  Besides,  there  were  two  (or  more)  similar 
impressions  round  it  near  its  middle  point ;  while  both  above  and 
below  these  middle  lines,  chevron-formed  impressions  produced  in 
like  manner,  and  arranged  point  to  point,  filled  up  the  rest  of  the 
space. 

From  below  the  rim  to  the  line  of  greatest  diameter,  diagonal 
rows  of  marks  placed  in  pairs,  and  not  very  close  together,  formed 
the  ornamentation.  Probably  the  mouth  of  the  urn — the  edge  or 
top  of  which  was  also  impressed  with  rudely  made  marks — was  of 
some  10  or  11  inches  diameter,  and  the  whole  urn  not  less  than  15  or 
16  in  height. 

No  doubt  the  destruction  in  this  and  so  many  similar  instances — 
where  the  urn  is  found  broken  up  and  carelessly  scattered  about  in 
different  parts  of  its  original  shrine — is  due  to  the  proceedings  of 
former  treasure-seekers. 

The  idea  that  these  houes  do  contain  gold  is  yet  very  prevalent. 
The  writer  has  been  told  by  a  person,  whose  general  information 
might  have  seemed  sufficient  to  obviate  such  a  notion,  that  a  man, 
who  opened  many  of  these  houes  without  authority  a  few  }'ears  ago, 
did  find  treasure  in  them.  He  has  been  asked  in  mid-labour  by 
passers-by  if  he  were  "  lating  (seeking)  goud ;"  and  on  applying 
for  permission  to  open  one  of  those  referred  to  above  (situate  on  a 
part  of  the  moor  which  had  become  private  property),  he  received 
it  on  condition  of  surrendering  whatever  gold  he  might  find  to  the 
owner. 

Diggings  on  the  Skelton  and  Guisborough  Moors. 

[1S63,  Part  II.,  pp.  125-129.] 

On  Tuesday,  May  26,  1863,  the  writer,  with  a  party  of  four  men, 
commenced  the  investigation  of  a  large  grave-hill  situate  on  a  part  of 


Diggings  071  the  Skelton  and  Giiisborough  Moors.   227 

the  Skelton  Moors.  The  hill  was  51I  feet  in  diameter,  and  rather 
more  than  6  feet  high  in  the  centre.  Like  almost  every  other  houe 
of  any  considerable  dimensions  in  the  district,  it  bore  evident  traces 
of  former  opening  at  the  centre.  Unlike  them,  however,  in  another 
respect ;  for  the  removal  of  a  spade-depth  of  earth  from  the  higher 
parts  of  the  hill  did  not  bring  to  light  any  fragments  of  ancient  pottery, 
or  of  calcined  human  bones  and  charcoal.  Commencing  from  the 
south  with  a  wide  trench,  expanding  as  we  neared  the  middle  parts,  a 
large  urn  was  discovered  at  a  distance  of  9  feet  due  east  from  the 
centre,  and  not  more  than  18  inches  from  the  surface.  The  only 
protection  from  above  was  a  flag-stone  of  small  dimensions — perhaps 
12  inches  by  15 — which  the  writer  himself  removed  in  marking  out 
the  work  for  the  men.  The  urn  was  quite  full  of  human  bones,  which, 
a  little  below  the  topmost  strata,  were  beautifully  clean  and  dry,  and 
many  of  them  retaining  a  fair  blue  tint  arising  from  the  heat  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected.  Among  them  were  found  two  portions  of 
a  large  bone  pin,  which,  when  entire,  must  have  been  at  least  6  inches 
long;  probably  more. 

The  urn  was  17  inches  high,  and  of  about  13^-  inches  in  greatest 
diameter,  the  width  across  the  mouth  being  very  nearly  the  same 
as  the  measure  through  the  uppermost  rib.  For  it  was  without  the 
heavy  overhanging  rim  which  has  characterized  all  the  others,  save 
one,  found  by  the  writer  in  these  grave-hills ;  and,  instead,  is 
encircled  by  two  ribs,  or  projecting  mouldings,  the  uppermost  being 
5^-  inches  below  the  mouth,  and  the  second  4  inches  from  the 
higher  one.  The  diameter  of  the  bottom  is  5|-  inches.  The 
substance  of  the  urn  is  not  very  thick,  and  it  seems  fairly  baked. 

Like  a  former  one  of  somewhat  similar  shape,  it  is  entirely 
without  external  ornamentation  ;  the  only  appearance  of  that  kind 
being  just  inside  the  mouth,  where  a  line  of  impressions,  much  like 
what  might  be  produced  by  pressing  a  finger  upon  the  soft  clay,  is 
traceable. 

Pursuing  our  investigations,  we  found  the  centre  of  the  hill  had 
been  dug  out  to  a  point  a  little  below  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
moor-surface.  Pushing  our  researches  beyond  the  parts  thus  disturbed, 
we  came  upon  very  observable  quantities  of  charcoal  at  a  point  about 
5  feet  north-west  of  the  centre,  which  speedily  led  us  to  what  were, 
unhappily,  only  the  crushed  remains  of  a  second  urn  of  singular 
beauty.  The  clay  of  which  it  had  been  made  was  much  redder  than 
in  these  cinerary  urns  usually,  but  in  such  a  state  of  disintegration 
that  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  a  single  fragment  of  2  inches  square, 
and  even  that  required  to  be  handled  with  the  greatest  care  for  fear 
it  should  fall  to  pieces  under  the  touch.  Enough,  however,  was 
obtained  to  give  a  pretty  close  approximation  to  its  original  size  and 
shape,  and  to  disclose  the  entire  ornamentation.  The  diameter  of 
the  mouth  was  probably  about  7  inches,  and  the  height  7^7  to  8  inches. 


2  28  Encampments,  Em'thworks,  Etc. 

The  depth  of  the  rim  was  if  inches,  and  the  diameter  of  the  bottom 
about  4  inches. 

The  rim  had  two  linear  impressions  of  a  twisted  cord  or  thong  on 
its  upper  edge  round  the  mouth.  It  was  then  divided  into  upper 
and  lower  halves  by  a  similar  impression  round  its  middle.  Two 
others  of  the  same  description  at  both  the  lower  and  upper  edges  left 
a  space  of  about  |  of  an  inch  wide  on  either  side  of  the  middle  ring, 
to  receive  a  series  of  rectilinear  diagonal  impressions  (produced  by- 
like  means)  meeting  on  the  middle  line  so  that  each  pair  formed  a 
chevron.  The  middle  rib,  which  seems  to  have  been  rather  more 
than  1 1  inches  from  the  lower  edge  of  the  rim,  was  marked  by  two 
encompassing  impressions  just  like  those  on  the  rim,  and  above  these 
were  nearly  vertical  rows  of  impressions  not  very  dissimilar  in  shape 
and  size  to  those  which  would  be  made  by  pressing  a  small  apple-pip 
into  soft  clay,  except  that  there  was  a  little  more  curvature  about  the 
small  end. 

Another  noticeable  character  of  the  clay  of  this  urn  was  that  it  was 
burnt  red  throughout.  There  was  no  black  portion  in  the  middle,  as 
is  the  almost  invariable  rule  in  these  Celtic  urns. 

The  excavation  of  this  hill  was  carried  on  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
northern  edge,  but  no  further  discoveries  were  made. 

Originally  this  hill  had  been  encircled  by  a  consecutive  series  of 
retaining-stones — a  character  which  holds  good  of  an  adjoining 
tumulus  of  still  greater  size,  of  another  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  north  of  it,  and  of  a  third  lying  about  a  mile  north-west.  An 
imperfect  barrier  of  stone-work  was  also  met  with  about  6  or  S  feet 
from  the  exterior  ring,  and  there  had  been  a  good  many  stones 
used  in  building  the  central  part,  but  there  were  no  traces  of  any 
cist. 

On  the  following  day  the  scene  of  our  labours  was  removed  to  one 
of  the  hills  which  lie  a  long  mile  to  the  north-west  of  that  just  described. 
A  boundary  stoup  on  the  summit  of  this  rather  interfered  with  the 
operations  of  the  workmen.  However,  a  trench  of  6  feet  wide,  cutting 
the  hill  through  from  north  to  south,  in  such  wise  as  to  leave  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  untouched  towards  the  east,  soon  revealed  a  solid 
flooring  of  rock  which  did  not  seem  ever  to  have  been  disturbed  ; 
working  still  closer  to  the  centre,  the  writer  then  directed  an  excava- 
tion of  some  6  feet  wide  to  be  made,  so  as  to  encompass  the  central 
stone  or  stoup,  and  a  sustaining  pillar  of  earth  about  5  feet  in  diameter. 
Before  this  had  been  carried  on  to  any  depth,  tokens  of  the  close 
vicinity  of  four  separate  sepulchral  deposits  were  observed ;  one  of 
these  lay  about  4  feet  south-east  from  the  centre,  and  another  i  foot 
east  of  the  last.  From  the  latter  the  writer  took  a  very  beautiful 
vessel  of  the  so-called  "  incense-cup  "  class,  i|  inches  high,  2\  inches 
greatest  diameter,  and  if  inches  across  the  mouth.  In  it  lay  a  por- 
tion of  a  curved  bone  pin,  two  other  fragments  of  which  were  after- 


Diggings  on  the  Skelto7i  and  Guisborough  Moors.  229 

wards  obtained  from  the  bones  beneath  ;  while,  immediately  below 
it,  and  upon  the  deposit  of  burnt  bones,  lay  a  remarkably  fine  arrow- 
head of  white  flint. 

From  the  other  deposit  there  was  obtained  a  flint  knife,  unburnt 
and  in  good  preservation  ;  and  an  unshaped  fragment  of  flint  which 
had  passed  through  the  fire.  The  other  two  deposits,  which  lay 
more  to  the  east  and  north-east  of  the  centre,  yielded  nothing  but 
charcoal  and  bone.  The  semicircular  excavation  was  continued  and 
carried  through  into  the  original  cutting  without  further  disclosure. 
But  meanwhile  one  division  of  the  workmen  had  completed  the  first 
trench,  and  laid  bare  a  flagstone,  or  flat  mass  of  rock,  ^\  feet  long  by 
4  wide,  and  12  inches  thick,  which  covered  a  portion  of  the  floor  to 
the  north-west  of  the  centre.  From  beneath  this  was  obtained  a 
small  urn,  about  6  inches  high  by  6|-  inches  in  greatest  diameter,  of 
the  so-called  "flower-pot"  description.  It  is  of  coarse  ware,  and  the 
sides  of  great  thickness.  The  edge  of  the  mouth,  which  descends 
with  a  hollow  slope  to  a  kind  of  flange  about  half  an  inch  below,  is 
rudely  marked  with  two  impressions  of  a  twisted  thong,  encompass- 
ing the  whole  mouth.  The  other  ornamentation  is  of  a  similarly  rude 
character,  consisting  of  three  horizontal  rows  of  not  very  regularly 
disposed  vertical  impressions,  of  about  two  twists  of  the  thong  each. 
These  occupy  the  space  between  the  edge  of  the  opening  and  the 
rib,  a  space  of  i|-  inches,  while  just  below  the  rib  are  two  other  and 
similar  rows.  The  bottom  of  the  urn  is  a  trifle  over  3  inches  in 
diameter.  Like  an  urn  of  similar  coarse  ware  and  careless  ornamen- 
tation, mentioned  by  the  writer  in  a  former  communication,*  this 
also  was  quite  empty,  there  not  being  a  trace  of  bone  anywhere 
near  it. 

The  incense-cup  has  the  two  customary  perforations  (which  were 
clearly  made  previous  to  the  firing  process)  about  half  an  inch  apart, 
and  on  a  level  with  the  bottom.  The  ornamentation  consists  of  two 
encircling  rows  of  circular  dots  round  the  mouth,  very  close  to  each 
other,  and  not  remarkably  evenly  drawn.  A  third  similar  row  en- 
compasses the  vessel  a  little  above  mid-height,  approaching  the  lower 
of  the  above-named  rows  much  more  nearly  on  one  side  than  the 
other  ;  and  a  fourth  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  above  the  bottom. 
Between  the  second  and  third  of  these  rows,  as  also  between  the  third 
and  fourth,  a  series  of  straight  lines  of  round  dots  are  drawn  so  as  to 
make  a  continuous  zigzag,  the  angles  of  which  abut  upon  the  rows. 
The  bottom  also  is  decorated  with  a  series  of  similar  straight  lines  of 
different  lengths,  and  meeting  each  other  at  various  angles  :  it  being 
quite  impossible  to  give  any  mere  verbal  description  of  the  design  or 
effect  of  the  whole. 

Again,  on  Tuesday,  June  9,  the  writer  was  at  liberty  to  engage  in 
these  investigations,  and  attention  was  directed  to  the  grave-hill  which 
*   Gentle/nan^ s  /Magazine,  Jan.,  1863,  p.  26  [ante,  p.  216]. 


230  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

lies  about  70  or  80  yards  to  the  north  of  that  Trom  which  the 
urn  and  incense-cup,  with  the  flint  arrow-head,  etc.,  just  mentioned, 
were  obtained.  This  tumulus  is  of  still  larger  dimensions  than  the 
former,  the  diameter  being  not  less  than  57  feet,  and  the  height 
above  the  level  of  the  moor  being  fully  6  feet  still,  notwithstanding 
the  removal,  some  long  time  since,  of  a  great  deal  of  stone  from  its 
central  parts.  It  is  also  (as  was  noticed  above)  surrounded  by  a 
circle  of  large  retaining  stones,  set  edge  to  edge,  with  flat  surfaces 
outwards.  In  this  case  it  seemed  advisable  to  begin  proceedings  by 
opening  a  trench  near  the  western  margin,  ranging  from  north  to 
south,  gradually  widening  as  we  approached  the  centre,  so  as  to 
examine  every  part  of  the  hill  thoroughly,  down  to  the  level  of  the 
ground. 

It  was  soon  ascertained  that  this  tumulus  also  was  piled  over  a 
quasi  Cyclopean  pavement  of  ponderous  flat-surfaced  rock  masses, 
which  probably  lay  there  long  ages  before  the  friends  of  the  deceased 
Celt,  to  whose  memory  it  was  raised,  fixed  upon  the  place  as  a  suit- 
able site  for  his  interment.  Here  and  there  it  would  seem  that  they 
had  inserted  wedge-like  stones  to  fill  up  chasms ;  but,  as  far  as  it 
could  be  ascertained  without  resort  to  actual  quarrying  operations, 
no  deposit,  similar  to  that  in  the  hill  last  examined,  had  been  made. 
On  approaching  the  centre  there  was,  as  had  been  foreseen,  every 
token  of  destructive  disturbance,  the  soil  being  very  loose  and  friable, 
and  entirely  intermingled,  instead  of  lying,  so  to  speak,  in  the  usual 
semi-stratified  form.  However,  on  reaching  the  eastern  side  of  the 
centre,  enough  of  the  original  internal  stonework  was  left  in  situ  to 
give  some  sort  of  an  idea  of  what  probably  had  been  the  inner  pro- 
tection of  the  original  deposit ;  for  a  segment  of  a  circle  of  flat  stones 
inclining  upwards  and  inwards  was  still  left,  the  outer  ones  over- 
lapping the  inner  ones,  like  the  sods  over  a  field-heap  of  newly 
gathered  potatoes. 

All  hope  of  a  central  deposit  being  now  dissipated,  a  systematic 
search  for  secondary  deposits  on  the  eastern  side  was  commenced, 
and  half  an  hour's  labour  disclosed  the  surface  of  a  flat  stone,  of 
about  20  or  22  inches  square,  lying  about  8  or  9  inches  below  the 
ling,  and  nearly  7  feet,  a  little  northward  of  east,  from  the  centre  of 
the  hill.  On  removing  this  a  cavity  was  at  once  observed  beneath 
it,  and  a  few  moments  of  careful  work  disclosed  the  presence  of  an 
urn.  It  proved  to  be  of  very  considerable  dimensions  and  was 
taken  out  entire,  except  a  very  small  fracture  on  one  part  of  the  edge, 
and  with  scarcely  any  other  flaw  in  any  part  of  it.  It  is,  without  ex- 
ception, the  most  perfect  of  any  the  writer  has  ever  seen  at  all  ap- 
proaching the  same  dimensions.  It  stands  very  nearly  17  inches 
high,  and  is  13  inches  over  all  across  the  mouth.  The  overhanging 
rim  or  border  is  4^  inches  deep,  and  is  marked  with  an  encompass- 
ing impression  produced  in  the  usual  way,  and  with  a  series  of  shorter 


Diggings  on  the  Skelton  and  Gttisborough  Moors.  231 

or  longer  straight  marks  of  the  same  kind,  arranged — so  far  as  one 
can  say  any  design  is  apparent — so  as  to  make  triangular  spaces,  im- 
pressed as  described,  of  the  whole  width  of  the  border,  alternate  with 
similar  spaces  left  without  mark.  There  is  no  perceptible  rib,  but 
three  inches  below  the  lower  edge  of  the  border  where  the  sides  begin 
to  slope  away  towards  the  bottom,  a  line  of  small  marks  about  an 
inch  apart  runs  round  the  entire  vessel.  The  bottom  is  about 
4  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  whole  urn  remarkably  symmetrical  and 
well  shaped.  The  edge  of  the  rim  round  the  mouth,  which  is 
bevelled  inwards,  also  has  continuous  encircling  impressions  of  the 
twisted  thong. 

When  found,  this  urn  was  nearly  full  of  mixed  clay  and  moor-sand 
and  black  earth  above,  and  the  lower  half  with  burnt  bones,  many  of 
which  were  in  much  larger  and  less  completely  burnt  fragments  than 
is  usual  Besides,  there  was,  adhering  to  that  side  of  the  urn  which 
was  turned  towards  the  centre  of  the  hill,  and  level  with  its  margin, 
an  "  incense-cup "  placed  on  its  side,  and  with  its  mouth  opening 
towards  the  interior  of  the  urn.  It  had  clearly  been  placed  in  this 
position  at  first,  and  secured  in  it  by  means  of  soft  clay.  This  cup 
is  about  2  inches  high,  by  2|  in  greatest  diameter,  and  2\  across  the 
mouth.  It  is  most  imperfectly  baked  ;  indeed,  one-half  of  it  is  still 
plastic  clay,  showing  no  trace  whatever  of  the  action  of  fire.  The 
other  half  is  of  red  ware,  but  very  soft  and  friable.  The  ornamenta- 
tion consists  of  two  encircling  impressions,  very  near  each  other,  just 
round  or  below  the  mouth,  from  the  lower  of  which  a  series  of  parallel 
straight  impressions  somewhat  deviating  from  the  perpendicular  reach 
nearly  to  the  bottom  of  the  cup,  which  is  scarcely  2  inches  in 
diameter.  No  trace  of  flint  or  wrought  bone  (and  only  the  merest 
tokens  of  the  presence  of  charcoal)  was  obtained  in  either  of  the 
urns,  or  near  them.  The  smaller  one  was  partly  filled  with  moory 
sand,  and  some  tenacious  black  substance  adhering  firmly  to  its  sides; 
while  beneath  it,  though  some  inches  lower,  a  considerable  quantity 
of  very  finely  comminuted  burnt  bone  occurred  in  close  contact 
with  the  side  of  the  containing  vessel. 


'O 


Investigation  of  a  Large  Celtic  Grave-Hill  in  Cleveland. 

[1863,  Part  II.,  fp.  269-274.] 

The  barrow-digging  operations,  next  in  sequence  to  those  described 
in  a  preceding  page,*  were  carried  out  in  connection  with  the  larger 
of  the  two  houes  on  the  Skelton  Moor,  commonly  known  as  Black- 
howes  ;  and  from  the  lesser  (or  more  northerly)  of  which  a  large  urn 
and  the  fragments  of  a  smaller  one  had  been  obtained  about  three 
weeks  before.t  The  tumulus  now  under  examination  was  one  of 
very  considerable  magnitude,  being  62  feet  in  diameter,  and  at  least 
*  Gentleman's  Magazine,  August,  1S63,  p.  125  \_ante,  p.  227].         t  Ibiii- 


232  Encampments,  Earthzvorks,  Etc. 

8  in  height  at  the  centre.  Probably  at  some  former  time  it  had  been 
even  higher,  as  the  most  cursory  observation  sufficed  to  show  that  it 
had  been  opened  from  above  in  the  middle,  the  consequence  of  which 
had  been  a  large  central  depression  or  basin.  This  hill  also  was  girt 
in  with  retaining-stones  of  no  small  size,  set  with  their  flattest  sides 
outwards,  and  most  of  them  still  maintaining  their  original  places  and 
adjustment. 

The  work  was  commenced  by  sinking  a  trench  of  7  or  8  feet  wide 
round  the  southern  flank  of  the  tumulus,  at  a  mean  distance  of  about 
8  feet  from  the  outer  edge.  At  a  point  almost  exactly  south  of  the 
centre,  and  about  20  feet  distant  from  it,  the  upper  stones  of  a  con- 
siderable pile  were  come  upon  at  12  or  15  inches  below  the  surface. 
It  was  soon  ascertained  that  a  series  of  flat  stones  of  large  size  were 
laid  slopingly  round  this  pile,  and  on  removing  some  of  these  the 
appearance  of  hollow  spaces  within  led  one  to  expect  speedily  to 
meet  with  a  deposit.  A  large  flake  of  burnt  flint,  followed  by  a 
second,  and  the  discovery  of  burnt  bone,  soon  converted  expectation 
into  certainty  ;  and  half  an  hour  more  disclosed  the  site  of  the  main 
deposit,  and. near  it,  at  a  point  exactly  21  feet  due  south  from  the 
centre,  a  small  "  incense-cup  "  of  very  red  ware,  placed  mouth  down- 
wards. It  is  without  the  frequently  occurring  perforations  in  the  side, 
and  equally  devoid  of  ornamentation.  It  was  nearly  full  of  peaty 
soil,  with  a  layer  of  some  black  substance  adhering  pretty  firmly  to 
the  interior  all  round.  It  was  set  on  a  small  flag-stone,  and  protected 
above  by  another  of  larger  size. 

There  were  still  many  stones  of  the  pile  to  be  removed,  several  of 
them  below  the  site  of  the  small  urn  just  discovered.  At  a  level 
lower  by  at  least  one  foot,  numerous  fragments  of  another  red  urn, 
accompanied  by  portions  of  calcined  bone  which  had  assumed  a  clay 
colour  and  were  much  decomposed  as  well  as  scattered  about,  were 
met  with,  and  under  such  circumstances  that  there  could  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  that  they  belonged  to  a  deposit  anterior  in  point  of 
date  to  that  found  just  before,  and  disturbed  in  the  process  of 
excavating  the  bed  of  the  cairn  enclosing  that.  The  urn  was  com- 
pletely disintegrated,  and  its  debris  found  in  various  different  parts  of 
an  area  of  15  or  18  inches  square. 

Leaving  this  deposit  as  hopeless,  the  writer  next  began  to  excavate 
more  to  the  south,  but  still  within  the  limits  of  the  base  of  the  cairn. 
Here  a  third  deposit,  2  feet  distant  from  the  place  occupied  by  the 
incense-cup,  and  accompanied  by  a  third  urn  of  red  clay,  also  very 
much  broken,  was  laid  bare.  This  urn,  on  careful  restoration,  proves 
to  have  been  of  comparatively  small  size,  but  still  much  too  large  to 
rank  as  an  ordinary  "  incense-cup."  It  is  4^-  inches  high,  by  nearly 
4  in  diameter  across  the  mouth,  and  of  a  very  elegant  form.  The 
only  ornamentation  consists  of  short  vertical  impressions  of  the  twisted 
thong  on  the  upper  part  of  the  sides  round  the  mouth.     In  the  earth 


Celtic  Grave-Hill  in  Cleveland.  233 

and  clay  closely  surrounding  the  compressed  fragments  of  the  urn 
the  writer  discovered  three  jet  beads,  two  of  the  "  billet"  shape,  and 
the  third  somewhat  similarly  formed,  but  much  more  slender.  The 
inference  that  this  urn  (which  contained  a  small  quantity  of  burnt 
bone)  accompanied  the  ashes  of  a  female,  and  that  this  female  was 
very  closely  connected  with  the  man  whose  bones  were  in  association 
with  the  incense-cup  and  burnt  flint  fragments,  seems  inevitable. 

While  the  writer  was  busily  occupied  with  careful  attempts  to  remove 
the  remains  of  this  urn  with  as  little  additional  injury  as  possible, 
he  was  called  to  inspect  a  discovery  made  by  one  of  the  workmen  at 
a  place  about  4  feet  to  the  west  of  where  he  was  at  work.  This 
proved  to  be  the  flattened  remains  of  an  urn  of  very  large  dimensions 
and  of  the  ordinary  shape  and  ware.  It  seems  impossible  to  give  any 
safe  estimate  of  the  size  or  height  of  the  vessel  when  entire,  but  some 
idea  may  be  formed  of  what  it  must  have  been,  from  the  circumstance 
that  though  no  small  portion  had  been  removed  by  the  spade  before 
the  man's  attention  was  drawn  to  the  fact  that  he  was  cutting  on  to 
pottery,  still  the  debris  of  the  urn  as  finally  removed,  all  in  situ  as  laid 
bare  by  careful  and  patient  manipulation,  covered  an  area  of  nearly 
2  feet  long  by  15  or  16  inches  in  breadth.  Judging  by  three  which 
the  writer  has,  of  16^,  17,  and  17^  inches  in  height  severally,  the 
vessel  now  under  notice  could  not  have  been  much,  if  at  all,  under 
22  to  24  inches  high,  and,  very  probably,  even  more.  It  did  not 
seem  to  have  contained,  in  comparison  with  its  size,  any  very  great 
quantity  of  burnt  bones,  as  none  had  escaped,  and  the  quantity  still 
enclosed  in  their  crushed  receptacle  seemed  scarcely  sufficient  to 
have  filled  an  urn  one-fourth  of  the  size.  Probably  this  comparative 
emptiness  may  account  for  such  complete  destruction  of  the  vessel 
itself. 

Continuing  the  examination  of  the  tumulus  by  a  trench  carried 
round  its  south-west  portion  to  the  level  of  the  soil,  a  layer  of  charcoal 
was  met  with  of  at  least  an  inch  thick ;  and  this,  being  followed  up, 
was  found  to  be  covered  with  piled  stonework,  which  at  a  point  nearly 
due  west  of  the  centre  threw  off  a  conical  cairn,  the  outer  limit  of 
which  reached  to  within  3  or  4  feet  of  the  external  retaining  stones. 
About  two  yards  more  to  the  north  another  such  pile  turned  more 
towards  the  centre,  but  no  deposit  of  bone  or  pottery  was  met  with  in 
either  place. 

It  was  otherwise,  however,  with  an  excavation  which  was  going  on 
nearer  the  centre  preparatory  to  taking  another  trench  of  about  6 
feet  wide,  across  from  east  to  west  and  down  to  the  level  of  the  moor, 
alongside  of  that  which  had  already  been  taken  out.  For  at  a  point 
precisely  south-west  of  the  centre,  and  about  11  to  12  feet  distant 
from  it,  two  flagstones,  the  one  overlying  the  other,  were  met  with, 
and  the  lowest  (about  4  feet  from  the  surface)  was  found  to  cover  a 
space  nearly  2  feet  in  diameter,  which  had  been  rudely  walled  in, 


234  Encainpi7ients,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

to  form  the  receptacle  of  a  sepulchral  deposit.  Either  the  natural 
subsidence  of  the  materials  of  the  tumulus,  or  the  disturbance  result- 
ing from  the  central  opening  above  referred  to,  had  led  to  the 
displacement  of  the  stones  forming  this  well-like  enclosure,  and  in 
consequence  the  urn  was  very  much  broken  and  the  sides  very  much 
decayed.  The  rim,  however,  remained  in  some  four  or  five  large 
pieces,  and  parts  of  the  vessel  below  the  rim  as  far  as  the  bulge  or 
point  of  greatest  diameter.  The  chief  part  of  the  bottom  also,  with 
enough  of  the  sides  still  unbroken  to  enable  one  to  determine  the 
size  and  shape  of  the  entire  urn,  was  obtained.  It  is  of  fine  and 
very  thin  ware,  and  most  delicately  decorated  with  remarkably  fine 
impressions  of  the  twisted  thong — as  fine  as  if  made  with  twisted 
netting  silk — three  encircling  impressions  above  and  three  below 
(besides  as  many  inside  the  lip),  while  the  intermediate  space  is  filled 
with  quasi-panels  of  seven  or  eight  like  impressions  alternately  vertical 
and  horizontal.  Below  the  rim  the  markings  were  encircling  lines  or 
rows  of  circular  impressions  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

As  regards  the  form  of  this  urn,  it  was  quite  unlike  all  the  others 
found  in  these  Cleveland  tumuli,  except  one.  It  was  7|  inches  in 
diameter  over  all  at  the  mouth  ;  not  less  than  9  at  the  bottom  of  the 
rim,  which  was  about  3J  inches  deep  ;  and  the  vessel  continued  to 
widen  for  more  than  2|-  inches  lower,  after  which  its  sides  fell  in 
rapidly  towards  the  bottom,  so  as  to  present  for  the  lower  half  of  the 
whole  a  kind  of  punch-bowl  shape.  The  whole  height  when  entire 
could  not  have  exceeded  9  inches,  even  if  it  reached  so  much. 

The  next  part  of  the  excavatory  process  depended  on  the  deepen- 
ing of  the  trench  across  the  hill  from  east  to  west,  and  widening  it  so 
as  to  cut  through  the  southernmost  rim  of  the  central  basin,  and  in 
extending  the  exterior  trench  round  the  eastern  flank  of  the  hill. 
During  the  execution  of  the  former  part  of  this  work  a  deposit  of 
calcined  bone,  quite  unprotected  by  any  immediately  contiguous 
stones,  and  unaccompanied  by  either  pottery  or  flint,  was  disclosed 
at  a  point  about  10  to  11  feet  south  of  the  centre,  and  about  4^  feet 
deep.  This  deposit,  however,  though  urnless  and  without  any  other 
immediate  means  of  isolation  from  the  surrounding  soil,  lay  only  a 
few  inches  beneath  a  considerable  pile  of  stones,  which  reached  from 
only  a  little  beneath  the  surface,  but  assumed  no  very  definite  form. 

The  extension  of  the  trench  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  barrow  dis- 
closed the  same  careful  flagging  or  paving  as  had  been  found 
overlying  the  surface  of  the  soil  at  all  other  parts  of  the  hill  in  this 
quarter,  and  which  extended  quite  to  and  beyond  the  centre  towards 
the  west ;  but  nothing  else.  The  writer,  therefore,  proceeded  to 
work  out  another  trench,  5  or  6  feet  wide  from  south  to  north,  and 
lying  between  that  last-named  and  the  centre.  This  had  not  been 
carried  deeper  than  18  or  20  inches  before  a  flat  stone  of  noticeable 
dimensions  was  laid  bare,  which,  on  its  removal,  disclosed  a  second 


Celtic  Grave- Hill  in  Cleveland.  235 

and  some  smaller  fragments.  When  these  had  been,  after  some 
labour,  put  aside,  a  third  flag,  triangular  in  form  and  not  less  than  2 
feet  in  length,  was  discovered,  and  beneath  it  a  deposit  of  incinerated 
bones,  but  nothing  enclosing  or  accompanying  them.  Below  the 
deposit  lay  a  small  pile  of  stones,  all  of  small  size,  but  still  with  the 
interstices  quite  hollow.  These,  with  the  few  inches  of  soil  which 
lay  between  them  and  the  moor  surface,  were  carefully  removed,  but 
nothing  further  was  found.  This  deposit  lay  about  14  feet  from  the 
centre  in  a  direction  nearly  south-east,  and  about  3i  feet  deep. 

The  flagging  at  the  base  of  the  tumulus,  and  not  more  than  5  feet 
south  of  the  centre,  had  by  this  time  been  reached  by  other  labourers, 
and  was  found  to  be  double,  and,  in  a  sense,  cellular :  but  while  the 
writer  was  directing  its  examination  he  was  summoned  to  extricate  a 
mass  of  pottery  and  human  ashes  from  an  inserted  bed  of  sand,  which 
lay  north  of  the  deposit  last  found,  and  nearly  due  east  from  the 
centre.  On  investigating  the  composition  of  this  discovery  it  was 
found  to  contain  two  urns,  one  of  which  was  entirely  crushed,  but  the 
other  only  a  little  disintegrated  about  the  mouth.  There  were  a  few 
small  stones  in  contact  with  these  urns  on  different  sides,  but  none  of 
them  6  inches  square,  while  above  them,  but  separated  by  a  consider- 
able depth  of  sand,  there  had  been  placed  a  flat  stone  of  12  or  15 
inches  square.  The  position  this  deposit  occupied  in  the  hill  was 
distant  from  the  centre  about  16  feet,  and  about  4  feet  from  the 
surface. 

The  lesser  of  these  two  urns  is  about  4J  inches  high  by  3f  inches 
diameter,  and  the  marking  consists  of  a  series  of  three  linear  im- 
pressions of  the  twisted  thong,  slightly  radiating  from  points  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sides  as  far  as  up  to  the  rib,  which  is  about  \\  inches 
below  the  verge.  The  other  urn  appears  to  have  been  about  5^  inches 
diameter  and  7  to  7^  in  height,  with  an  overhanging  rim  of  the  usual 
description  marked  with  a  large  reticulated  pattern  formed  in  the 
usual  manner.* 

The  next  part  of  the  operations  depended  upon  the  driving  of  a 
trench,  10  to  12  feet  wide,  from  the  excavations  already  made  on  the 
south  side  right  through  the  centre.  On  approaching  within  6  feet  of 
that  point,  the  writer  cut  upon  a  large  flat  stone  about  4  feet  deep, 
and  8  feet  south-south-west  from  it,  on  removing  which  an  urn,  mouth 
upwards  and  nearly  empty,  was  immediately  apparent.  While  occu- 
pied in  the  endeavour  to  extricate  this,  the  side  of  a  second  was 
shghtly  fractured,  and  in  working  round  this  with  great  care  a  third 
was  detected.  All  three  were  placed  with  their  mouths  upwards,  and 
a  few  minutes'  labour  sufficed  not  only  to  show  that  both  the  last- 
named  were  so-called  "  incense-cups,"  but  to  remove  them  safely  from 

*  The  characteristics  of  this  find  were  such  as  at  once  to  suggest  the  same 
inference  as  that  just  now  stated,  namely,  that  the  lesser  urn  accompanied  the 
remains  of  the  female. 


236  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

their  resting-place.     Both  of  them  are  of  red  ware,  and  the  larger  of 
the  two  is  2\  inches  high,  by  3   across  the  mouth,  and  4  in  greatest 
diameter.     This  is  elaborately  ornamented  with  encompassing  impres- 
sions of  the  twisted  thong,  two  close  together  near  the  bottom,  one 
near  the  edge  of  the  orifice,  and  three  besides,  about  equidistant, 
dividing  the  sides  of  the  cup  into  four  spaces,  each  about  half  an  inch 
wide,  which  are  further  decorated  by  a  series  of  chevrons  with  their 
angles  on  the  lines.     The  smaller  of  the  two  is  also  marked,  but  less 
carefully  and  prettily  than  the  last.     The  third  urn  is  of  an  ordinary 
bowl-shape  with  rounded  sides,  of  thin  ware,  red  in  colour,  and  pro- 
bably of  the   "  drinking-cup "  description.     It  is  unfortunately  very 
much  crushed  by  the  pressure  of  the  superincumbent  stone,  though 
admitting  of  restoration,  and  is  of  a  remarkably  elegant  form.     This 
vessel  was  quite  empty,  except  a  little  charcoal  at  the  bottom  ;*  and 
only  a  very  few  and  very  small  particles  of  calcined  bone  were  found 
in  company  with  the  entire  group.     The  two  incense-cups  were  quite 
full  of  sand  and  charcoal,  with  scarcely  a  particle  of  bone,  and  the 
larger  of  them  was  carefully  closed  with  a  mass  of  charcoal  of  2\  to 
3  inches  square.     On  prosecuting  the  trench  nearer  to  and  through 
the  centre,  the  flagging  already  adverted  to  was  found  to  be  continued 
as  far  as  the  researches  extended,  and  to  consist  of  larger  stones  the 
nearer  the  centre  was  approached.     It  was  found  that  one  of  them 
had  been  removed  in  the  former  (central)  examination  of  the  tumulus, 
but  no  tokens  presented  themselves  in  any  quarter  that  discovery  had 
been  made  of  the  central  interment.     Neither  was  it  found  in  the 
present  exploration,  although  a  most  careful  and  systematic  search  was 
carried  on  over  a  space  of  not  less  than  5  feet  radius  from  the  middle 
of  the  hill.     Time  failed,  or  a  wider  space  still  would  have  been 
examined  ;  and,  as  it  is,  the  writer  purposes  returning  at  an  early  day 
to  continue  the  investigation,  and  complete  the  thorough  search  of 
the  hill. 

But  even  as  it  is,  the  barrow  is  a  most  interesting  one,  and  certainly 
wonderfully  illustrative  of  the  custom  of  burying  continuously  in  a 
tumulus  already  formed.  No  less  than  nine  interments,  clearly,  and 
ten  urns  have  been  discovered ;  besides  which,  the  distinct  chrono- 
logical connection  of  three  of  them  is  clearly  illustrated.  Beyond 
dispute,  the  tumulus  was  raised  on  the  tomb  of  some  great  chief. 
Then,  one  cannot  even  guess  how  long  after,  a  secondary  deposit  was 
made  on  the  southern  flank.  Then,  again,  and  doubtless  after  many 
years,  a  third  interment  was  made  on  the  very  site  of  that  last  men- 
tioned, and  causing  the  entire  demolition  of  its  accompanying  urn  and 
dispersion  of  the  ashes  ;  while  the  accompanying  fragments  of  calcined 
flint  prove  that  even  this  third  interment  dates  back  to  the  "  indefi- 
nitely remote  stone  period." 

*  Except,  also,  one  single  calcined  tooth. 


Further  Researches  in  Cleveland  Grave- Hills.      237 


Further  Researches  in  Cleveland  Grave-Hills. 

\\%(>Z,  Part  11.,  pp.  548-552.] 

The  diggings  now  to  be  noticed  were  carried  out  in  a  tumulus 
situate  about  a  mile  nearly  due  north  of  that  from  which  were  taken 
the  nine  cinerary  vases  already  mentioned.  This  grave-hill  was  about 
42  feet  in  diameter,  and  encompassed  at  its  base  by  a  circle  of  large 
retaining  stones,  as  previously  described  in  these  papers.  It  was 
evident  on  the  slightest  inspection  that  the  hill  had  been  subjected  to 
extensive  disturbance  about  the  centre,  and  especially  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  centre.  Part  of  this  might  be  due  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  Ordnance  surveyors,  who  made  this  hill  one  of  their  stations ;  but 
there  could  be  little  doubt  that  other  hands  beside  theirs  had  been  at 
work,  and  with  a  definite  object  as  well — the  same  object  which 
has  led  to  the  central  demolition  of  every  considerable  hill  in  the 
district. 

The  writer  marked  out  the  work  for  his  labourers  by  laying  bare  a 
space  about  15  feet  long  and  6  wide,  and  concentric  with  the  outline 
of  the  barrow  ;  the  outer  edge  of  which  was  approached  within  4  to 
5  feet  by  this  cutting.  While  occupied  with  this  preliminary  work,  a 
flat  stone  of  15  inches  square,  lying  horizontally  at  a  distance  of  \2>\ 
feet,  almost  exactly  due  south  from  the  centre,  attracted  attention. 
On  removing  it  the  mouth  of  an  urn  was,  after  a  few  minutes  of  very 
careful  search,  disclosed  ;  and  about  an  hour  of  cautious  labour  was 
sufficient  to  extricate  it,  with  no  damage  beyond  that  inflicted  by  time, 
the  pressure  of  the  overlying  soil,  and  the  roots  of  the  ling.  It  proved 
to  be  of  very  great  thickness,  and  of  extraordinary  tenacity  or  tough- 
ness. In  shape  it  varies  from  the  generality  of  the  Celtic  urns  pre- 
viously discovered  by  the  writer,  inasmuch  as  from  the  bulge  or  line 
of  greatest  diameter  the  sides  slope  away  almost  abruptly  to  the 
bottom,  with  a  straight  outline  instead  of  a  more  or  less  curvilinear 
one.  The  diameter  of  the  mouth  is  \q\  inches,  depth  of  rim  3,  from 
rim  to  bulge  2^,  the  total  height  of  the  vessel  being  11  inches.  It 
was  found  to  contain  two  portions,  some  3  inches  long  each,  of  bone 
pin,  the  point  of  one  being  quite  perfect  and  of  extraordinary  finish 
and  sharpness. 

The  whole  centre  of  the  hill  was  one  mass  of  hopeless  confusion  ; 
very  large  flat  slabs  of  stone  lying  in  all  directions,  as  they  had  been 
dislodged  by  previous  explorers.  Several  pieces  of  wrought  flint,  how- 
ever, were  found ;  two  of  them  being  arrow-points,  one  perfect,  the 
other  with  the  point  gone.  On  the  eastern  side  a  few  broken  frag- 
ments of  a  large  and  exceedingly  well-baked  urn  were  found,  but  not 
enough  to  make  out  either  the  size  or  pattern  from. 

The  next  field-day  saw  the  working  party  bend  their  steps  in  an- 
other direction,  namely,  to  three  hills  on  the  Westerdale  Moor,  known 
by  the  name  of  Western  Howes.     These  howes,  three  in  number,  lie 


238  Encampments,  Earthwo^^ks,  Etc. 

only  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  White  Cross,  and  half  a  mile 
north-east  of  Ralph  Cross — two  antique  crosses  of  great  interest. 
Erected  originally,  doubtless,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  some 
tragic  deed  or  striking  event,  they  have  long  been  dumb  depositaries 
of  their  charge ;  as  much  so — though  not  one-third,  perhaps  even  not 
one-fourth,  their  age — as  the  three  neighbour  howes  of  the  name  and 
fame  of  the  chieftains  sepulchred  below. 

The  tumulus  which  lay  most  to  the  east  w*as  the  first  examined.  It 
was  about  28  feet  in  diameter,  and  3^?  to  4  high,  and  presented  no 
tokens  of  disturbance.  Nevertheless,  careful  search  revealed  no 
deposit :  simply  a  large,  irregular-shaped  stone  about  the  centre, 
firmly  imbedded  in  the  moor,  and  far  too  bulky  to  be  moved,  even  if 
the  diggings  around  its  edges  had  revealed  any  existing  disturbance 
of  the  natural  soil  in  which  it  lay,  and  had  lain,  no  doubt,  from  the 
time  the  ice  which  bore  it  there  had  deposited  it. 

In  the  meantime,  a  lad  belonging  to  the  party  had  been  at  work  on 
the  least  hill,  which  lay  a  score  or  two  of  yards  to  the  east  of  the 
largest  and  middlemost  of  the  three.  A  simple  deposit  of  calcined 
bones  and  charcoal  on  the  surface  of  another  "  moor-stone  "  of  large 
size,  with  no  accompaniment,  and  no  protection  except  8  or  9  inches 
of  soil,  was  the  reward  of  his  labour.  The  efforts  of  the  whole  party 
were  now  directed  to  a  thorough  search  of  the  central  tumulus,  a  hill 
of  31  to  32  feet  in  diameter.  This  bore  such  obvious  traces  of 
central  disturbance,  that  the  writer  felt  sure  the  original  deposit  had 
been  rifled  or  destroyed ;  while  its  dimensions  seemed  scarcely 
sufficient  to  warrant  strong  expectations  of  secondary  deposits.  It 
soon  appeared  that  the  entire  central  space  of  the  tumulus,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  a  diameter  of  13  or  14  feet,  had  been  occupied  by  a  carefully 
and  symmetrically  piled  mass  of  stones,  large  enough  to  offer  con- 
siderable interstices  in  multitudes  of  places  ;  while  on  the  outside  of 
these  lay  a  series  of  large  flat  slabs  all  sloping  inwards.  No  trace  of 
the  original  interment  could  be  met  with.  It  had  either  disappeared 
or  been  removed. 

But  while  all  the  adult  workers  were  making  up  their  minds  to  a 
blank  day,  a  boy  broke  a  piece  out  of  the  side  of  a  large  urn,  which 
had  been  deposited  at  a  point  about  8  feet  due  east  of  the  centra  In 
proceeding  to  extricate  this,  the  writer  broke  a  small  piece  of  the  rim 
of  a  second  urn  in  actual  contact  with  the  first,  and  covered  with  a 
stone  barely  large  enough  to  close  the  mouth.  On  removing  this 
stone,  a  very  beautiful  and  perfect  battle-axe  of  polished  fine-grained 
granite  lay  disclosed  ;  the  extreme  length  of  which  is  4f  inches,  and 
greatest  breadth  (across  the  socket)  2\  inches  :  it  weighs  9  ounces. 
The  urn  in  which  this  treasure-trove  was  found  was  of  an  entirely  new 
form,  presenting  more  resemblance  to  the  Cornish  and  Wiltshire  urns 
in  shape,  than  any  other  Cleveland  or  Yorkshire  urn  the  writer  has 
ever  seen.     It  is  9^-  inches  across  the  mouth,  1 1  through  the  shoulder 


Further  Researches  in  Cleveland  Grave-Hills.     239 

of  the  rim,  from  which  the  sides  go  straight  down  to  a  bottom  5  inches 
in  diameter,  the  whole  height  of  the  vessel  being  \\\  inches.  It  is  of 
thin  and  well-baked  ware,  and  the  rim  carefully  ornamented  with 
bold  encompassing  impressions  of  the  twisted  thong  above  and  below, 
the  intermediate  space  being  occupied  with  a  series  of  acute  chevrons, 
pointing  upwards,  and  in  groups  of  three,  fitting  one  within  the  other. 
Besides  the  calcined  bones,  of  which  there  was  no  great  quantity,  the 
urn  contained  a  small  incense-cup,  of  the  barrel  shape  and  damaged 
exterior  which  seems  to  characterize  a  large  proportion  of  this  class  of 
vases  in  this  district.  This  was  found  about  midway  between  the 
mouth  and  the  bottom  of  the  urn,  and  was  placed  mouth  downwards. 
Amid  the  bones  were  found  portions  of  four  bone  pins,  and  a  very 
remarkable  bone  article  about  \\  inches  long,  and  \  inch  in  diameter. 
It  is  perforated  lengthwise,  and  on  one  side,  about  midway  between 
the  ends,  an  orifice,  carefully  wrought,  opens  into  the  bore.  It  is 
ornamented  by  a  spiral  line  winding  from  one  end  to  the  other.  The 
other  urn  is  of  the  same  shape,  and  much  the  same  dimensions  as 
that  noticed  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  paper,  and  con- 
tained amid  the  burnt  human  bones  pieces  of  two  burnt  pins. 

The  discovery  of  the  battle-axe  actually  within  the  urn  is  highly 
interesting,  as  it  places  the  period  at  which  these  implements  began  to 
be  fabricated  beyond  dispute.  What  was  the  purpose  of  the  bone 
ornament  (?)  it  is  impossible  to  surmise.  The  orifice  in  the  side  must 
surely  have  been  for  the  purposes  of  suspension,  whether  it  were 
turned  upwards  or  downwards  when  worn.  In  the  one  case  feathers, 
or  other  decorations,  may  have  been  fixed  in  the  terminal  apertures ; 
in  the  other  a  depending  tassel  (or  its  equivalent)  may  have  hung 
from  the  intermediate  orifice.  It  was  possibly  worn  as  a  badge  of 
office  or  distinction.  Certainly  the  brave  with  whose  ashes  it  lay 
commingled  must  have  been  one  of  more  than  ordinary  rank  or 
dignity  to  have  such  riches  of  accompaniment  with  his  remains. 

The  scene  of  labour  was  next  transferred  to  a  tumulus  about  a 
mile  to  the  north  of  Western  Howes,  and  known  as  "  Stone  Rock 
Hill."  The  writer  had  made  an  opening  into  this  several  months 
since,  at  a  point  about  7  feet  south  of  the  centre ;  the  total  diameter 
being  about  27  or  28  feet.  The  entire  structure,  save  only  the  ling 
and  the  scanty  coating  of  black  earth  due  to  the  natural  decay  of  its 
roots  and  fallen  leaves  through  ages  upon  ages,  was  of  stone  :  and  a 
deep  hole  in  the  centre,  loosely  filled  and  covered  with  lumps  of 
stone,  told  the  same  tale  as  the  irregular  surface  about  the  centres  of 
earth-made  tumuli.  On  the  surface  of  the  natural  soil,  and  beneath 
18  or  20  inches  of  piled  stone-work,  the  writer  had  found,  on  the 
occasion  just  named,  fragments  of  pottery  and  burnt  bone,  enough  to 
show  that  a  large  and  fairly  marked  urn  had  been  broken  up  there  at 
some  time  or  other  ;  though  when,  or  wherefore,  it  was  not  easy  even 
to  guess.     For  it  was  evident  that  the  demolition  was  not  in  recent 


240  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

times.  Indeed,  there  seemed  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  contem- 
poraneous with  the  piHng  of  the  hill ;  for  in  no  other  way  could  the 
confused  "minglement"  of  bones  and  pottery  have  come  to  occupy 
the  position  they  did  relative  to  the  stones  of  the  pile  above  and  the 
sandy  soil  of  the  earth  below.  The  writer  removed  as  many  of  these 
pieces  of  urn  without  further  disintegration  as  it  was  possible,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  enough  of  the  rim,  and  of  the  bottom,  with 
pieces  of  the  sides  still  in  continuity,  to  be  able  to  make  out  most  of 
the  particulars  as  to  size,  shape,  etc.  When  all  had  been  removed, 
finding  portions  of  bone  still  intermingled  with  the  subjacent  sand, 
the  search  was  prosecuted  still  further,  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  the 
removal  of  a  small  stone  disclosed  a  portion  of  the  mouth  of  a  buried 
urn.  This  was  carefully  guarded  by  a  circle  of  fiat  stones  set 
slopingly,  and  so  as  to  protect  its  upper  edge  from  pressure  ;  and 
owing  to  this,  it  was  obtained  with  very  little  abrasion  even,  and  only 
one  unimportant  flaw.  It  proves  to  be  of  9  inches  in  height,  6  over 
the  mouth,  and  7  in  greatest  diameter,  and  very  elaborately  orna- 
mented on  the  rim,  on  the  edge  of  the  mouth,  and  below  the  rim  to 
the  bulge.  It  is  the  most  carefully  and  elaborately  marked  of  any 
the  writer  has  yet  met  with,  and  again  of  a  new  form.  A  series  of 
closely  set  and  very  irregular  zigzags  constitutes  the  marking  beneath 
the  rim,  while  that  of  the  rim  itself,  and  the  mouth,  is  in  panels  of 
very  close  and  fine  horizontal  markings  ;  the  panels  being  formed  by 
the  occurrence  of  vertical  lines  at  regular  intervals  ;  the  whole  being 
bordered  above  and  below  with  encompassing  lines.  It  is  a  singularly 
interesting  specimen  of  Celtic  ware. 

On  proceeding  to  ascertain  the  contents  of  this  urn,  after  removing 
some  common  stones  and  moor-earth  with  a  small  admixture  of  burnt 
bone,  the  circular  bottom  of  some  small  inverted  vessel  presently 
appeared,  and  by  its  side  the  curvilinear  outline  of  another.  These 
proved  to  be  a  minute  urn,  2^-  inches  high  by  the  same  in  diameter 
over  the  mouth,  and  an  incense-cup  of  red  ware.  The  small  urn  was 
quite  without  mark,  but  the  incense-cup  ornamented  by  straight  im- 
pressions of  the  twisted  thong  placed  slopingly.  The  bottom  of  the 
cup  is  of  larger  dimensions  than  the  mouth,  and  on  one  side  near  the 
bottom  is  a  small  hole,  matched  by  another  in  the  bottom  closely 
adjoining. 

This  is  only  the  second  instance  of  an  incense-cup  with  the  two 
perforations  met  with  by  the  writer  in  this  district. 

All  the  particulars  of  this  find  are  of  much  interest :  the  burial  of 
the  urn  especially,  and  scarcely  less  the  broken  urn  and  its  scattered 
contents  above  ;  the  presence  of  calcined  bone  in  all  the  earth  sur- 
rounding the  buried  urn ;  the  character  of  its  shape  and  markings  ; 
the  remarkable  circumstance  of  a  small  urn  and  incense-cup  both 
being  found  within  it :  the  one  or  the  other  is  usual  enough,  but  the 
presence  of  both  together  seems  to  be  a  marked  deviation  from  usage. 


Discovery  of  a  Celtic  Refuse- Heap.  241 

As  a  case  for  speculation,  the  characteristics  of  the  interment  are 
IDrolihc  in  suggestions.  May  the  broken  urn  and  its  contents  betoken 
some  barbaric  mode  of  triumph  over  a  vanquished  enemy  ?  May 
not  the  bone  dispersed  throughout  the  earth  which  enclosed  the 
entire  urn  prompt  the  idea  that,  if  it  did  not  belong  to  the  body  of 
him  whose  broken  urn  lay  above,  it  must  once  have  belonged  to  the 
persons  of  slaves,  or  captives,  or  possibly  a  wife  or  wives  of  the 
deceased  chief?  Such  questions  will  present  themselves  to  the  in- 
quirer— would  that  a  satisfactory  reply  were  as  easily  pronounced. 

Discovery  of  a  Celtic  Kitchen  Refuse-Heap  at 
Normanby  in  Cleveland. 

[1864,  Part  I., pp.  162-167.] 

The  site  of  this  interesting  discovery,  which  was  made  in  the 
autumn  of  1863,  is  a  point  on  the  flank  of  Normanby  Bank,  about 
250  feet  below  the  highest  ground  of  the  moor  above,  and  450  abov,e 
the  level  of  the  sea,  which,  at  the  nearest  point,  is  more  than  4-^-  miles 
distant  by  the  air-line.  Before  the  iron  mines  in  the  bank  were 
wrought,  or,  in  other  words,  only  a  few  years  ago,  the  seam  of  iron- 
stone must  have  cropped  out  in  very  near  vicinity  to  the  soil  which 
lay  above  this  curious  memorial  of  Celtic  times.  As  it  is  at  present, 
much  excavation  has  taken  place,  and  the  face  of  the  outcropping  seam 
presents  a  perpendicular  wall  of  some  ten  feet  high.  Opposite  to 
this,  and  at  a  distance  of  less  than  twenty  yards,  is  the  bank  in  which 
the  deposit  to  be  noticed  has  been  laid  open  to  view. 

The  immediate  cause  which  led  to  the  discovery  was  that  mining 
necessities  led  to  the  formation  of  a  new  road  at  a  level  lower 
by  about  16  feet  than  an  existing  one;  this,  moreover,  could 
scarcely  be  less  than  5  feet  below  the  level  of  the  circumjacent 
modern  surface.  While  the  workmen  were  engaged  in  excavating 
and  removing  the  soil,  in  a  direction  mainly  parallel  to  the  old  road, 
their  attention  was  drawn  to  the  presence  of  many  bones  in  a  remark- 
able state  of  preservation  ;  while,  a  little  lower,  they  came  upon  a 
layer  which  seemed  to  consist  in  great  degree  of  shells.  The  interest 
of  the  men  as  well  as  of  the  engineer  being  excited,  a  considerable 
collection  of  the  strange  matters  was  speedily  formed,  inclusive  of 
the  bones  of  various  animals,  many  fragments  of  rude  pottery,  and 
portions  of  three  different  querns.  IMoreover,  among  the  other 
bones,  part  of  a  lower  human  jaw,  with  three  of  the  molars  still  in 
the  sockets,  was  discovered,  together  with  a  substance  which,  at 
least,  presents  a  strong  resemblance  to  hair,  possibly  human  hair. 
The  writer  was  on  the  spot,  for  several  hours  each  day,  on  the  2nd, 
loth,  and  17th  of  December,  and  he  took  part  in  very  nearly  all  the 
excavation  which  has  been  made  subsequently  to  the  formation  of 
the  new  road. 

VOL.  V.  16 


242  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

On  further  investigation  more  bones  and  pottery  have  been  found, 
until,  in  all,  portions  of  not  less  than  ten  or  twelve  vases  have  been 
obtained,  and  many  stones-weight  of  the  bones.  These  appear  to 
have  belonged  to  animals  of  the  ox  kind,  to  sheep,  deer,  and  swine. 
One  skull  of  an  animal  of  the  first-named  species,  with  the  horns 
still  attached,  and  unbroken  to  the  distance  of  3  or  4  inches 
below  the  orbits,  is  pronounced  to  be  that  of  Bos  longifrofis.  It  is 
small  in  its  dimensions ;  but,  to  compensate,  multitudes  of  other 
bones,  belonging  presumably  to  the  same  species,  testify  to  a  very 
considerable  size  indeed  in  the  individuals  who  owned  them.  Many 
jaws,  for  instance,  together  with  bones  from  both  fore  and  hind  legs, 
and  ribs,  would  not  disgrace  the  primest  prize  beef  of  the  present 
day.  A  tusk  of  a  small  boar,  tolerably  entire,  was  also  picked  out,  and 
afterwards  a  part  of  the  opposite  tusk  and  jaw  of  another.  But  the 
bones  of  this  animal  were  comparatively  scanty  among  the  general  mass. 
There  was  no  lack,  however,  of  bones  of  deer  and  sheep,  at  least  of 
deer  or  sheep  ;  but  there  can  be  scarcely  any  doubt  as  to  the 
presence  of  both.  The  variation  in  size  of  corresponding  bones  of 
these  creatures  was  very  striking.  Some  were  so  small  that  the 
animals  to  which  they  had  belonged  must  have  been  almost  dwarf 
specimens  of  their  several  tribes.  In  answer  to  a  suggestion  that 
they  might  be  the  bones  of  young  animals,  it  may  be  stated  that  the 
bones  were  as  hard  and  perfect  at  the  edges  as  elsewhere,  whereas 
those  of  animals  in  early  growth  are  cartilaginous  at  their  edges  and 
for  some  space  towards  the  centre.  The  writer  has  partaken  of  a  leg 
of  well-fed  Welsh  mutton  which  did  not  weigh  five  pounds :  more 
than  one  blade-bone  from  the  shoulder  that  passed  through  his  hands 
at  Normanby  suggested  a  shoulder  of  mutton  scarcely  heavy  enough 
to  have  grown  on  a  sheep  of  even  that  diminutive  size. 

Besides  these  bones,  many  of  which  still  retained  no  small  degree 
of  toughness,  were  a  great  number  of  others  much  smaller  and  very 
much  comminuted,  or  possibly  even  quite  decayed,  and  only 
betokening  their  former  presence  by  the  occurrence  in  their  casts  of 
a  mineral  which  accompanied  every  bone  that  was  exhumed,  in 
greater  or  less  quantity.  This  was  the  earthy  phosphate  of  iron,  and 
when  first  dug  out  was  of  a  dirty  white  hue,  and  marly  consistency, 
but  when  it  had  been  exposed  to  the  air  for  some  hours  it  assumed 
a  very  beautiful  blue  tint.  Besides  the  other  bones  there  was  what 
may  yet  prove  to  have  been  the  tooth  of  some  large  predaceous  fish. 

To  pass  now  to  a  notice  of  the  shell-bed.  This  was  about  8 
inches  in  thickness,  and  consisted  principally  of  shells,  exclusively 
those  of  the  common  marine  mussel  and  the  ordinary  "pinpatch"  (as 
the  periwinkle  is  locally  called).  These  were  nearly  all  perfect  in 
form,  but  of  the  consistency  of  water-soaked  paper,  and  the 
periwinkles  had  lost  most  of  their  colour.  The  mussels,  on  the 
contrary,    are   unaltered   in   this   respect,   and   after   careful  drying 


Discovery  of  a  Celtic  Reftise-Heap.  243 

tesume  much  of  their  shelly  consistency.  All  these  had  evidently 
been  opened,  for  no  case  whatever  of  the  two  valves  still  united  at 
the  hinge  presented  itself.  Intermingled  with  the  shells  was  a 
quantity  of  drift  vegetable  matter,  of  various  sorts,  and  soil,  such  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  side  of  any  stream  after  a  flood. 

The  average  depth  of  the  lower  part  of  this  shell-bed  below  the 
modern  surface  cannot  be  stated  at  less  than  1 8  to  19  feet.  Below  it  lay 
other  sedimentary  matter,  still  enclosing  fragments  of  wood,  sticks,  a 
stray  shell  or  two,  and  pebbles  ;  while,  in  one  case,  the  root  portion  of 
the  trunk  of  a  tree,  with  the  roots  still  iji  situ,  was  dug  out.  The  larger 
proportion  of  bones  and  pottery,  as  well  as  the  broken  querns,  was 
dug  out  from  just  above  the  shell-bed ;  though,  in  some  cases,  pieces 
of  pottery  were  found  at  least  18  or  20  inches  higher. 

The  following  rough  sketch  of  section  will  illustrate  the  relative 
position  of  the  several  beds  and  their  contents. 

The  mixed  matter  which  lies  above  the  shell-bed,  like  all  the  rest, 
bears  unmistakable  tokens  of  having  been  deposited  in  water ;  and, 
moreover,  in  water  not  liable  to  any  great  commotion,  or  even  to  the 
disturbance  which  might  be  occasioned  by  the  hasty  influx  of  a 
considerable  volume  of  water.  The  stream  which  supplied  it  must 
have  been  small,  and  not  liable  to  be  ever  converted  into  a  torrent, 
however  small.  For  large  quantities  of  matters,  which  must  have 
been  very  light  when  deposited,  lie  equably  diffused  throughout  the 
bed,  which  is  limited  below  by  the  shells,  above,  at  a  distance  of 
about  5  feet  on  the  average,  by  an  ochrey-yellow  stratum  of  several 
inches  thick ;  and  these  matters  are  leaves  of  trees,  twigs,  sticks, 
knots  or  lumps  of  wood,  small  pieces  of  charcoal,  moss,  bracken, 
ling,  sedges,  rushes,  acorns,  hazel-nuts,  a  few  stray  seeds  of  plants ; 
besides  two  or  three  wing-cases  of  beetles.  These  substances 
abound  most  in  the  lower  layers  of  the  bed ;  higher  up  it  consists 
more  exclusively  of  earthy  matters.  The  ochrey  seam  above  could 
only  have  been  deposited  in  still  water;  and  above  that  again 
evidences  of  the  same  fact  abound. 

An  examination  of  the  section  presented  further  along  the  new 
road  gives  an  intelligible  hint  as  to  the  manner  in  which  a  hollow 
capable  of  containing  an  accumulation  of  water,  may — if  not  must — 
have  been  formed  ;  for  there  is  disclosed  the  existence  of  a  "  trouble," 
or  fault,  in  the  ironstone,  the  inner  surface  of  which  (or  that  which 
lies  towards  the  deposit)  is,  so  to  speak,  puddled  with  a  facing  of 
clay  and  pebbles  that  may  be  traced  downwards  until  lost  beneath 
the  level  of  the  new  road.  One  thing  else  may  be  noted  as  certain, 
that  there  was  a  time  when  no  accumulation  of  water  existed  here, 
and  that  at  that  time  trees  were  rooted  at  a  level  of  more  than  20 
feet  below  the  modern  surface.  How — by  what  means — this  level 
was  so  affected  as  to  be  converted  into  the  bottom  of  a  quiet  pool  of 
certainly  many  yards  in  diameter,  must  always  remain  a   mystery ; 

16 — 2 


244  Encampfuents,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

but  there  is  not  the  slightest  room  for  doubt  that  such  a  change  has 
occurred ;  any  more  than  that,  after  the  change,  the  pool  became,  at 
some  time  or  other,  and  almost  certainly  not  long  afterwards,  the 
receptacle  of  abundant  refuse  matters  left  from  the  food  of  a  human 
community.  That  this  community  consisted  of  a  family  or  families 
of  Celts  is,  I  suppose,  open  to  no  kind  or  degree  of  doubt.  The 
pottery  alone  is  of  such  a  description  as  to  decide  that  question. 
Portions  of  not  less  (as  has  been  said  above)  than  ten  or  twelve 
vessels,  in  all,  have  been  obtained,  most  of  them  of  large  size.  One 
was  of  21  inches  in  diameter  across  the  mouth,  three  or  four  others 
between  that  and  15  or  16  inches;  several  others,  uncertain;  and 
one,  by  very  far  the  least  of  the  whole,  not  more  than  4  or  5.  Two 
or  three  of  these,  of  which  portions  of  the  mouth  were  found,  are 
formed  without  lip  or  projecting  rim ;  the  others  have  a  mere  thin 
rim  or  flange,  of  small  width,  like  many  of  the  domestic  vessels  of 
the  present  day.  The  querns  were  formed,  one  of  a  hard,  close- 
grained  free-stone,  the  other  of  the  so-called  "white  flint,"  or  "crow- 
stone,"  of  the  neighbourhood ;  one  of  the  two  being  a  segment  of  a 
flatter  cone  than  the  other,  and  having  a  rather  convex  bottom 
against  a  slightly  concave  one  in  its  companion.  The  third  had 
been  brought  to  the  conical  shape,  but  was  left  quite  incomplete 
both  at  bottom  and  top,  and,  of  course,  therefore,  no  perforation  was 
so  much  as  commenced.  No  implement  of  any  sort  or  kind  could 
be  discovered,  unless  a  longish  wooden  peg  and  a  couple  of  what 
might  be  rude  bone  pegs  (rather  than  pins)  may  be  looked  on  as 
such.  Nor  was  any  personal  ornament  recovered,  except  half  of  a 
jet  ring,  very  beautifully  formed  and  polished,  and  of  about  the  same 
dimensions  as  a  fair-sized  modern  ring  for  keys.  But  although  no 
implements  were  found,  pieces  of  wood  with  the  marks  of  cutting,  or 
rather  chopping,  upon  them,  were  found  in  four  or  five  different 
cases ;  and  in  two  instances,  at  least,  bones  that  had  been  cut  across, 
more  or  less  obliquely,  were  observed.  The  chief  characteristic  of 
the  cut  edges  in  the  bones  was  roughness ;  the  implement  employed 
had  rather  burst  its  way  through  than  severed  it,  and  the  cut  surfaces 
of  the  wood  suggested  the  employment  of  a  tool  which,  whatever 
else  may  have  characterized  it,  had  anything  rather  than  a  keen  edge. 
The  contrast  between  the  surface  of  a  chip  from  a  tree  felled 
yesterday  and  that  of  the  old  stone-hatchet  hewn  oak-tree  coffin  in 
the  Scarborough  Museum,  is  scarcely  greater  than  that  between  the 
same  chip  and  the  cut  edges  of  the  wood  from  this  Normanby  find. 

In  the  instance  just  now  quoted — the  remarkable  Gristhorpe  find 
— articles  of  bronze — a  javelin  head  and  a  pin  or  two — were  found 
associated  with  a  variety  of  flint  articles — arrow-heads,  knives,  etc.  ; 
a  testimony,  sufficiently  supported  from  other  sources,  that  the  use 
of  stone  axes  was  continued  after  the  introduction  of  metal  weapons. 
So  that  there  appears  to  be  absolutely  no  foundation  on  which  to  rest 


Discovery  of  a  Celtic  Refuse-Heap.  245 

a  conjecture  as  to  the  date  of  this  Normanby  deposit.  It  may  come 
down  nearly  to  historic  times,  in  other  words,  be  approximately 
contemporaneous  with  the  burial  of  the  Gristhorpe  chieftain :  or  it 
may  date  back  far  further  in  the  remote  past.  One  bone  which  the 
writer,  on  his  first  visit,  picked  out  from  among  the  mass  already 
collected,  seems  to  favour  the  latter  supposition.  It  is  the  metatarsal 
bone  from  a  sheep  or  deer,  and,  besides  being  perforated  throughout, 
has  a  tranverse  hole  bored  through  about  midway  from  either  end  ; 
in  this  respect  presenting  a  close  analogy  to  a  relic  taken  by  the 
writer  from  an  urn  undoubtedly  belonging  to  an  early  Celtic  burial.* 

It  may  be  added  that  the  human  jaw  is  peculiarly  massive  and 
broad,  and  must  have  belonged  to  a  person  of  herculean  frame.  The 
three  teeth  still  left  are  of  enormous  size  ;  very  considerably  larger 
than  those  in  the  head  of  the  Gristhorpe  skeleton,  which  is  that  of  a 
man  of  6  feet  2  or  3  inches.  Another  peculiarity  about  these  three 
teeth,  which  strikes  the  eye  quite  as  forcibly  as  their  great  size,  is  the 
degree  in  which  they  have  been  worn  down,  and  flat,  by  use.  Indeed, 
the  crowns  are  gone ;  and  thus  the  fact  appears  that  though  beef, 
mutton,  venison,  and  pork,  varied  with  smaller  game  and  subsidized 
with  shell-fish,  may  have  formed  no  inconsiderable  items  of  food,  at 
least  occasionally,  to  the  owner  of  these  teeth  and  his  relations  and 
friends,  still,  for  a  considerable  part  of  his  diet,  he  must  have  depended 
on  a  supply  of  matters  of  such  a  nature  as  to  grind  down  almost  the 
entire  enamel  of  the  most  formidable  set  of  grinders  the  writer  ever 
beheld. 

As  to  the  special  form  in  which  the  deposit  has  presented  itself  to 
our  eyes,  it  seems  to  be  almost  impossible  to  frame  any  theory  to 
account  for  it.  The  ochrey  bed  has  a  slight  dip  towards  the  west 
and  north,  leading  to  the  conclusion  that  the  suspended  sedim.entary 
portion  or  its  constituents  must  have  been  poured  in  from  the  side  of 
the  steep  bank  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  the  ironstone  wall  mentioned 
above  :  a  conclusion  which  perhaps  might  have  been  anticipated. 
As  far  as  it  could  be  traced,  the  shell-bed  appeared  to  partake  of  the 
same  slope.  Yet  nothing  could  be  clearer  than  that  none  of  the 
shells  composing  it  had  been  "  rolled."  Not  one  among  them  pre- 
sented the  slightest  traces  of  abrasion,  nor  was  there  a  single  instance 
among  the  bones  which  suggested  so  much  as  the  notion  of  their 
being  water-worn.  The  edges  of  the  beef  ribs  were  so  sharp  that  the 
question  was  mooted  once  and  again,  "  Are  they  not  artificial  ?"  while 
the  fracture  in  the  bones  which  had  contained  marrow — all  of  them, 
almost  to  one,  broken  across — was  strangely  fresh  and  angular  still. 
Besides,  a  current  capable  of  moving  the  massive  fragments  of  the 
querns  must  have  worn  the  pottery  to  nothing,  rounded  off  all  the 
edges  of  the  broken  bones,  and  reduced  the  shells  to  fine  fragments. 
It  is  abundantly  clear,  then,  that  the  shells  and  other  matters  were 
*  Gentkniaii s  Magazine,  November,  1863,  p.  550  \aiite,  p.  239]. 


246  Encampments,  Earthworks^  Etc. 

found  just  where  they  had  been  thrown ;  and  then  the  inquiry 
suggests  itself,  "  But,  on  that  supposition,  how  is  the  flat,  layer-like 
form  of  the  deposit  to  be  accounted  for  ?"  And  truly,  in  the  absence 
of  anything  like  evidence,  it  is  not  easy  even  to  suggest  an  answer. 
The  settlement,  whether  consisting  of  one  family  or  several,  may  have 
been  formed  on  the  side  of  the  bank  above  the  pool,  near  the  point 
at  which  the  small  supplying  stream  entered  it.  Or  it  may  have  been 
a  miniature  "  lake  settlement."  Or — what  has  no  ground,  as  far  as 
the  writer  knows,  in  any  British  archseological  discovery — it  may  have 
been  constructed  in  the  trees  overhanging  the  pool,  the  boll  and  roots 
of  one  of  large  size  having  actually  been  (as  noticed  above)  discovered 
in  situ  during  the  process  of  investigation.  The  first  supposition 
makes  the  equable  dispersion  of  the  shells  at  least  partially  practi- 
cable, but  supposes  the  bones,  pottery,  and  stones  deliberately  thrown 
far  out  into  the  pool.  The  last  is  unsupported  by  experience.  The 
second,  besides  being  arrived  at  by  a  quasi  exhaustive  process,  seems 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  case  better  than  either  of  the  other  two; 
only,  if  ever  a  lake-dwelling  existed,  if  could  only  have  been  placed 
at  a  very  short  distance  from  the  margin,  and  all  traces  of  it  must 
have  been  dug  away  in  the  earliest  excavation  made  on  the  spot  in 
connection  wath  the  initiatory  mining  operations.  There  is  certainly 
another  supposition,  though  fully  as  much  unsupported  by  tangible 
evidence  as  either  of  these  others,  namely,  that  the  dwelling  may 
have  had  for  its  site  a  kind  of  small  promontory,  or  possibly  even  an 
island-block  detached  from  the  bank,  precipitated  forward  when  the 
ironstone  fault  was  occasioned,  and  afterwards  connected  with  the 
bank  by  some  narrow  gangway,  removable  at  pleasure.  And  it  is  not 
quite  unworthy  of  mention  that  the  human  bone  was  found,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  the  workmen,  in  a  place  where  the  pool  must 
have  reached  its  full  depth  with  a  very  rapidly  sloping  bank. 

AVhat  may  be  called  the  geological  features  of  the  case — the  forma- 
tion of  so  many  feet  of  sedimentary  matter  above  remains  of  the 
epoch  these  must  certainly  be  assigned  to — seem  to  the  writer  of 
extreme  interest,  and  to  be  quite  worthy  the  attention  of  those  to 
whom  the  questions  discussed  in  Sir  C.  Lyell's  recent  publication  are 
matters  of  attentive  consideration  and  concern. 

Examination  of  a  Large  Houe  on  the  Skelton  Moors  in 

Cleveland. 

[1864,  Part  I.,  pp.  705-709.] 

About  the  middle  of  September  last  the  writer  commenced  opera- 
tions with  his  party  of  workmen  on  a  tumulus  locally  known  as 
"Turn-gate  Hill,"  but  marked  "  Herd  Houe"  in  the  Ordnance  Map, 
as  well  as  so  named  in  records  of  ancient  perambulations.  It  was 
difficult    to   make   out   any   satisfactory  estimate   of  size — accurate 


Large  Hone  on  the  Skelton  Moors  in  Cleveland.  247 

measurements  were  out  of  the  question — in  the  case  of  this  grave- 
hill  :  for  it  was  at  first  sight  apparent  that  its  present  form  was  very 
different  from  that  in  which  it  had  been  left  by  its  Celtic  builders. 
It  would  appear  originally  to  have  had  a  low  earthen  ring  encircling 
it;  that  it  measured  about  55  to  58  feet  in  diameter,  and  not  less 
than  i\  to  8  feet  in  height  at  the  centre.  But  there  was  the  ill- 
omened  cup  in  the  middle  above,!  instead  of  the  conical,  nicely 
rounded  summit ;  and  the  south-east  and  north-west  flanks  both 
showed  unmistakable  traces  of  wholesale  disturbance.  The  position 
of  the  hill  is  bold  and  commanding  in  the  extreme.  Situate  at  the 
very  edge  of  a  bluff  which  looks  out  far  away  over  the  comparatively 
level  ground  that  lies  to  the  north  between  it  and  the  sea,  and  then 
over  the  sea  itself,  it  also  commands  a  widely  extensive  prospect  east 
and  west,  and  is  itself  a  remarkably  prominent  and  striking  object  to 
everyone  approaching  from  the  west  or  north-west.  Indeed,  it  has 
often  appeared  to  the  writer,  in  years  long  past,  to,  as  it  were, 
obtrude  itself  in  a  singularly  marked  manner  on  the  passenger's 
notice. 

Operations  were  commenced  at  a  point  about  25  feet  due  south 
from  the  centre,  and  a  4  feet  trench  extending  9  or  10  feet  both  to 
the  westward  and  eastward  was  the  first  part  excavated.  At  about 
2  feet  deep  a  large  pile  of  loose  stones,  following  the  shape  of  the 
hill,  was  cut  upon ;  and  indications  of  burnt  bone  were  met  with  at 
22  feet  south  of  the  centre.  These  led  to  the  discovery  of  a  plain  in- 
terment, without  even  the  amount  of  protection  which  could  be  given 
by  an  overlying  flat  stone.  Shortly  after  it  became  apparent  that  a 
cavity  had  been  wrought  in  the  stone  pile,  to  the  extent  of  2  to  3  feet 
in  diameter,  and  then  filled  up  with  earth,  and  made  the  receptacle 
of  a  small  neatly  formed  and  marked  urn.  This  urn  was  5^  inches 
in  diameter  and  7  high  ;  while  over  and  about  it  were  the  fragments 
of  a  second,  placed  in  studious  disarray,  but  in  such  quantity  that  its 
original  size  and  fashion  were  easily  made  out. 

No  further  discoveries  were  made  in  the  course  of  this,  the  first 
day's  labour ;  only  the  work  was  so  far  prosecuted,  and  in  such  a 
way,  as  to  make  a  continuance  of  it  on  a  subsequent  occasion  as 
practicable  and  convenient  as  possible.  Indisposition  and  other 
causes  deferred  the  "subsequent  occasion"  until  Monday,  March  21, 
in  the  present  year.  Less  than  an  hour's  labour  on  that  day  dis- 
closed two  urns,  both  of  them  small ;  one  covered  with  a  flat  stone, 
the  other  quite  unprotected  from  above ;  and  standing  at  a  distance  of 
about  20  to  24  inches  from  each  other.  The  careful  removal  of  the 
surrounding  soil  from  these,  preparatory  to  their  extrication,  showed 
that  they  rested  scarcely  on,  but  quite  close  to,  the  ends  of  a  flat 
stone  of  16  or  18  inches  wide.  When  this  was  removed,  a  third  and 
much  larger  urn  was  disclosed  beneath,  but  unhappily  a  good  deal 
broken.     This  was  taken  carefully  out,  and,  after  a  very  little  more 


248  Encampments,  Earthivorks,  Etc. 

work  had  been  employed  about  the  place,  a  fourth  urn  was  found  at 
about  the  same  medium  level  with  the  two  first,  but  some  12  or  15 
inches  nearer  to  the  centre  of  the  houe,  inverted  and  empty. 

On  examination,  the  contents  of  the  two  smaller  urns  proved  to  be 
the  calcined  bones  of  children,  apparently  of  very  tender  years.  One 
or  two  of  the  plates  of  the  skull  appeared  scarcely  thicker  than  an 
old  sixpence,  and  part  of  what  was  probably  the  thigh-bone  did  not 
exceed  the  dimensions  of  a  man's  little  finger  as  to  diameter.  On 
removing  the  intrusive  soil  from  the  larger  urn,  there  was  seen  lying 
on  the  very  surface  of  the  mass  of  calcined  bones  the  eye-part  of  a 
well-made  bone  needle.  Careful  search  was  made  for  the  other  parts, 
and  was  successful ;  and  the  needle,  5  inches  in  length,  and  with 
something  more  curvature  than  an  ordinary  sacking-needle,  has  been 
happily  restored.  From  the  character  of  the  bones  accompanying 
this  needle,  it  seemed  more  than  probable  that  the  remains  were 
those  of  a  female,  and  of  small  stature. 

The  presumption  surely  is  that  she,  whose  frame  in  life  had  in  part 
consisted  of  these  bones,  was  the  mother  of  the  two  children  whose 
urns  stood  above ;  and  that,  possibly  at  least,  the  empty  inverted  urn 
must  be  a  kind  of  cenotaph  to  the  father,  slain  in  battle,  but  whose 
body  it  had  not  been  possible  to  recover. 

This  group  of  urns  was  found  at  a  medium  distance  of  12  feet 
south  from  the  centre  of  the  tumulus,  and  within  the  barrier  of  loose 
stones  mentioned  above  (which  did  not  reach  a  lower  level  than  about 
2  feet  above  the  natural  soil),  and  at  a  depth  of  3  feet  from  the 
surface. 

Shortly  afterwards,  at  a  point  about  5  feet  more  towards  the  east, 
another  small  urn,  with  a  piece  or  two  of  a  broken  one  in  contact 
with  it,  was  discovered.  This  was  found  to  be  marked  M'ith  linear 
rows  of  dots,  both  on  the  rim  and  below,  and  to  contain  a  child's 
bones.  More  to  the  east  still,  a  large  urn  protected  above  by  a  flat 
stone  was  met  with,  which,  however,  had  burst  all  round  from  the 
pressure  of  the  superincumbent  earth,  and  was  seen  to  be  very  full 
indeed  of  calcined  bones.  It  was  removed  with  much  care,  and,  at 
the  cost  of  no  little  trouble,  without  further  breakage.  Upon  sub- 
sequent examination  there  were  found,  among  the  human  bones  it 
contained,  two  perfect  bone  pins  ;  one  straight  and  thick,  the  other 
curved  and  beautifully  rounded  and  tapering ;  a  portion  of  a  third, 
much  finer;  and  a  number  of  pieces  of  flint  burnt  quite  white,  and 
which  had  certainly  formed  a  weapon  or  implement  of  considerable 
size.  The  discovery  of  another  urn,  quite  plain  and  a  good  deal 
broken,  soon  after  ensued ;  this  was  of  about  8  inches  high  by  5 i  in 
diameter  at  the  mouth,  and  contained  only  a  very  small  quantity  of 
calcined  bone,  mixed  with  earth  and  a  little  charcoal.  Another, 
smaller  still,  perfectly  plain,  without  any  approach  to  the  typical 
overhanging  rim,  almost  more  like  a  horn  tumbler-shaped  drinking- 


Large  Houe  on  the  Skslton  Moors  in  Cleveland.    249 

cup,  with  a  slightly  curved  outline  at  mouth  and  foot,  than  any  other 
vessel,  was  next  obtained.     This,  too,  contained  very  few  bones. 

The  last  find  of  the  day  was  of  a  large,  well-moulded  urn  about 
14  inches  high,  all  the  parts  of  which,  notwithstanding  numerous 
cracks,  were  still  in  their  place.  This  occurred  at  a  point  about  9 
feet  south-west  of  the  centre,  and  4  feet  deep  ;  and  its  mouth  was 
covered  by  a  remarkably  thick  stone — to  be  employed  in  that  manner. 
A  good  deal  of  the  moor-soil  had  infiltrated  into  this  vase;  but,  on 
its  removal,  a  large  quantity  of  bones,  filling  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
cavity  of  the  vessel,  were  found  in  it.  Among  these,  and  just  covered 
by  them,  lay  a  very  carefully  wrought  and  moulded  war-hammer  or 
battle-axe,  seemingly  of  greenstone,  rubbed  quite  smooth,  or,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  polished.  Besides  these  nine  urns,  the  broken 
pieces  of  two  others,  disturbed  and  destroyed  by  the  authors  of  the 
extensive  dilapidations  in  the  hill  above  noticed,  were  met  with  ;  one 
of  which  had  been  large  and  massive,  but  quite  plain.  A  calcined 
flint  arrow-head,  of  the  leaf-shaped  type,  was  also  found  among  the 
disturbed  soil  and  near  some  of  the  broken  pottery  ;  and  besides  this 
a  good  knife,  three  thumb-flints  (one  very  carefully  and  finely  wrought), 
and  a  very  large  quantity  of  roughly  broken  flint,  or  calcined  pieces 
of  the  same  substance,  were  picked  up  at  different  parts  of  the 
barrow,  particularly  from  among  the  interstices  of  the  stone-work. 

The  latter  portion  of  this  day's  work  brought  the  workmen  into 
contact  with  a  conical  stone  cairn,  evidently  not  occupying  the  middle 
of  the  tumulus,  and  which  therefore  had  not  been  materially  inter- 
fered with  by  the  former  excavators  of  the  centre.  They  had  dis- 
turbed a  part  of  its  southernmost  flank,  but  nothing  more.  The  31st 
of  March  was  therefore  given  to  the  investigation  of  this  cairn.  It 
was  soon  found  to  be  not  less  than  16  feet  diameter  at  its  base,  and 
about  5  feet  high,  and  to  have  been  piled  together  with  great  care, 
and  in  a  very  symmetrical  manner.  Its  centre  covered  a  spot  about 
8  feet  east-north-east  of  the  centre  of  the  hill,  and  in  the  clay  on  its 
flank,  nearly  due  east  from  the  centre  of  the  tumulus,  there  was  an 
unprotected  and  unaccompanied  interment  of  burnt  bones  :  those  of 
the  skull  being — for  bones  appertaining  to  a  burnt  body — singularly 
entire.  They  had  given  way  at  the  sutures,  but  besides  that,  the 
upper  parts  of  the  skull  were  but  little  damaged.  On  removing  the 
loose  stone-work  of  the  cairn,  it  presently  became  evident  that,  ap- 
proaching to  and  about  its  centre,  the  open-work  was  continued  much 
below  the  level  of  the  soil. 

Eventually  an  oval  pit,  6|  feet  by  4^,  was  disclosed,  and  it  was  found 
to  be  continued  downwards  to  a  depth  of  nearly  4  feet.  But  water 
stood  many  inches  deep  in  it,  and  the  w^ork  of  investigation  was 
thereby  rendered  both  difficult  and  unsatisfactory.  In  one  place, 
about  li-  feet  deep,  two  small  pieces  of  pottery  occurred,  and  no 
small  quantity  of  calcined  bone  and  charcoal.     In  fact,  these  seemed 


250  Encampments,  Earthworks^  Etc. 

to  be  scattered  loosely  over  the  floor  and  among  the  stones  just  above 
the  floor,  throughout  a  great  part  of  the  area  of  the  pit.  Altogether 
the  appearance  of  this  pit  and  its  contents  was  very  perplexing,  and 
not  a  little  anomalous.  Certainly  no  disturbance  had  taken  place  in 
modern  times.  Equally  certainly,  if  disturbance  had  taken  place  in 
ancient  times — and  there  were  tokens  which  seemed  to  do  more  than 
hint  at  it,  such  as  the  apparent  displacement  of  side  or  lining  stones, 
and  the  like — still  the  pile  had  been  carefully  put  together  over  the 
disturbed  ashes,  and  that  most  certainly  anterior  to  the  heaping  to- 
gether of  the  earthy  constituents  of  the  houe  as  remaining  to  modern 
times.  The  writer's  own  impressions  are  that  here  there  is  another 
instance  of  the  wanton  or  purposed  violation  of  a  grave-pile  in  ex- 
tremely remote  times,  and,  as  such,  due  to  some  intrusive  or  con- 
quering tribe.  Another  very  striking  case  in  point  was  met  with  in  a 
houe  some  seven  miles  more  to  the  south,  and  described  in  a  former 
paper  inserted  in  this  journal.* 

In  this  last  day's  work  there  were  also  met  with  many  pieces  of 
flint,  both  burnt  and  unburnt  (three  of  the  former  occurring  among 
the  loose  stones  and  bone  in  the  pit),  as  also  fragments  of  three  more 
urns  broken  up  in  the  modern  disturbance  of  the  barrow.  One  of 
these  is,  equally  in  its  consistency,  thinness,  shape,  and  colour,  unlike 
the  sherds  of  a  Celtic  urn  ;  having  been  very  hard  baked  and  not  above 
one  half  the  standard  thickness.  Another  was  a  portion  of  a  vase 
which  had  been  much  more  elaborately  and  beautifully  ornamented 
than  any  urn  the  writer  has  yet  met  with,  or  heard  of  as  found  in 
Cleveland.  And  what  is  unusual,  the  ornamentation  was  continued 
on  the  inner  side  of  the  vase,  and  not  simply  on  the  edge  of  its  rim.  It 
must  have  been  a  remarkably  beautiful  specimen  indeed  of  the  Celtic 
cinerary  vase. 

There  was,  perhaps,  more  in  the  numerous  and  varied  contents  of 
this  grave-hill  to  suggest  the  idea  of  a  family  burial-place  than  in  any 
other  which  has  come  under  the  writer's  notice.  The  group  of  four 
urns,  specially  noticed,  is  alike  interesting  and  significant ;  and  no 
less  so  the  frequent  occurrence  of  what  were  without  question  the 
remains  of  children.  The  very  large  quantity  of  bones,  also,  in 
two  several  instances,  deserves  special  notice.  In  each  case  there 
was  nearly  enough  to  fill  a  half-bushel  measure.  Bateman  gives 
it  as  his  opinion  that  in  the  later  period  during  which  cremation 
prevailed  the  bodies  were  more  completely  burnt,  and  the  residuary 
matters  would  consequently  occupy  far  less  space,  and  so  be  con- 
tained in  an  urn  of  much  smaller  dimensions.t    Admitting  the  validity 

*  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  Nov.,  1863,  p.  551 ;  compare  also  Gentlevtan's  Magazine^ 
Sept.,  1863,  p.  270  \antc,  pp.  240  and  232]. 

t  "It  would  appear  that  a  considerable  interval  elapsed,  in  which  burial  by 
inhumation  was  in  vogue,  before  a  return  to  combustion  rendered  cinerary  urns 
requisite,  and  in  the  meantime  some  improvement  in  the  ceramic  art  had  taken 
place.     We  find  the  urns  much  smaller,  from  5^  to  9  in.  high.  ...  It  will  be 


Large  Houe  on  the  Skelton  Afoors  in  Cleveland.  251 

of  his  conclusion,  even  the  secondary  interments  in  these  Cleveland 
grave-hills  must  be  of  very  great  antiquity  :  an  inference  which  is 
abundantly  enforced  by  the  most  various  considerations,  and  weakened 
by  none. 

Again,  Professor  Worsaae  starts  the  idea  that  commonly,  if  not 
generally,  secondary  interments  may  be  regarded  as  those  of  persons 
whose  means  or  distinction  were  scarcely  such  as  to  enable  or  warrant 
their  surviving  friends  to  rear  a  special  tumulus  for  their  interment. 
This  is  an  idea  which,  in  our  Cleveland  grave-hills,  seems  to  meet  not 
only  with  no  confirmation,  but  in  many  cases  with  marked  contradic- 
tion. The  inserted  urns  and  their  contents  are  continually  found  to 
be  larger,  finer,  and  more  indicative  of  the  distinction  in  which  the 
buried  man  was  held  while  living,  than  the  urns  at  the  base  of  the  hill. 
Besides  which,  whether  these  large  collections  of  interments  betoken 
the  family  or  simply  the  tribal  burying-place,  on  either  supposition  the 
Danish  antiquary's  suggestion  is  excluded. 

Further  Investigations  of  Grave-Hills  in  Cleveland. 

[1864,  Part  II.,  pp.  19-23.] 

On  Tuesday,  April  27,  the  writer  proceeded  to  examine  two  houes 
situate  on  the  high  grounds  overhanging  the  Rawcliff  Bank  woods 
in  the  parish  of  Skelton.  Both  of  these  grave-hills  were  in  the  en- 
closed land,  and  one  of  them  had  been  a  good  deal  mutilated  ;  partly, 
no  doubt,  by  the  persons  engaged  in  the  Ordnance  Survey,  who 
had  made  it  a  station,  and  partly,  it  would  seem,  by  other  hands 
as  well.  The  other  was  intact,  and  as  it  formed,  as  it  were,  a  kind  of 
cap  to  a  very  gently  rising  natural  eminence,  it  was  extremely  difficult 
to  decide  where  man's  hand  had  commenced  the  process  of  adding 
to  or  smoothing  down  the  features  of  nature.  However,  as  near  as 
one  could  estimate,  the  dimensions  of  the  houe  proper  were  about 
30  feet  in  diameter  :  the  entire  depth  at  the  apex  certainly  did  not 
exceed  2  feet. 

The  writer  commenced  proceedings  here  by  removing  the  turf  over 
a  central  area  of  about  15  feet  square,  and  the  intense  hardness  of 
the  soil  is  not  easily  conceivable.  It  was  indeed  almost  impossible 
to  drive  the  spade  to  a  sufficient  depth  to  remove  the  sods  in  such 
a  condition  as  to  admit  of  their  being  returned  to  their  places  after 
the  examination  was  complete. 

The  occurrence  of  charcoal  in  scattered  fragments,  and  here  and 
there  in  patches  of  larger  size,  soon  gave  encouragement  in  supposing 
that  the  labour  employed  would  not  be  fruitless,  and  an  hour's  work 
revealed  the  presence,  in  a  place  about  3  feet  north  of  the  centre, 
and  at  a  depth  of  perhaps  x\  feet  from  the  surface,  of  a  deposit  of 

evident  that  the  bones  must  have  been  more  perfectly  burnt  than  before,  to  enable 
them  to  be  enclosed  in  such  small  vessels." — "Ten  Year's  Diggings,"  p.  2S1. 


252  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

some  intrusive  matter,  which,  from  its  nature  and  appearance,  could 
scarcely  fail  to  belong  to  an  ancient  interment.  Clearing  the  surface 
of  this  intrusive  matter,  a  nearly  circular  area  of  some  14  or  15  inches 
in  diameter  was  displayed,  the  removal  of  a  few  inches  only  of  which 
gave  tokens  of  the  presence  of  calcined  human  bone.  The  deposit 
reached  a  depth  of  nearly  3  feet  from  the  surface,  and  was,  so  to  speak, 
divided  into  two  portions  by  the  interposition  of  a  layer  of  matter 
containing  no  traces  of  bone  whatever.  A  few  small  fragments  of 
calcined  flint  accompanied  the  bone,  which  occurred  in  such  large 
and  easily  distinguishable  pieces  as  to  necessitate  the  inference 
that  it  had  been  very  imperfectly  burnt.  Many  of  the  vertebra, 
for  instance,  were  as  perfect  in  form  as  they  had  been  before  being 
subjected  to  the  action  of  fire. 

Continuing  the  investigation  in  other  parts  of  the  space  now  laid 
open,  the  writer's  attention  was  specially  called  to  a  place  about 
5  feet  south-east  of  the  deposit  just  named,  where  the  soil  presented 
unmistakable  evidences  of  the  action  of  fire.  Indeed,  the  appear- 
ance was  precisely  that  of  brick-earth  burnt  without  much  previous 
working  or  setting  up  in  shape,  or  perhaps  of  brickdust  made  to  cohere 
by  the  infiltration  of  some  adhesive  substance.  This  substance  was 
seen  to  lie  in  a  kind  of  domed  form,  and  to  be  nearly  2  feet  in 
diameter.  Proceeding  to  remove  the  upper  part  very  carefully,  the 
thickness  of  the  red  deposit  proved  to  be  some  3  or  4  inches,  and  the 
whole  to  be  in  connection  with  a  circular  wall  of  the  same  substance. 
Within  the  line  of  demarcation  thus  formed  there  lay  a  second  large 
deposit  of  very  imperfectly  calcined  bone,  with  here  and  there  a  flake 
or  two  of  burnt  flint,  which  seemed  to  have  belonged  to  an  implement 
of  no  great  size  or  elaboration  of  form.  The  lower  parts  of  the  inter- 
ment rested  on  a  layer  of  charcoal,  and  this  again  on  a  bed  of  inserted 
clay,  which  presented  the  same  appearances  as  the  walls  and  dome, 
only  to  a  less  degree. 

The  writer  has  given  the  details  of  this  deposit  with  some  minute- 
ness, as  it  appears  to  him  to  present  features  alike  novel  and  interest- 
ing. There  seems  no  possible  way  of  accounting  for  the  appearances 
observed  save  the  following  ;  at  least,  none  that  is  not  open  to  grave 
objection.  A  pit  must  have  been  formed  in  the  natural  soil  (stiff  clay 
with  much  gravel  intermingled),  and  then  lined  at  bottom  and  round 
its  sides  with  prepared  clay.  Fire  was  next  inserted,  and  kept  up 
until  the  heat  had  been  great  enough  and  sufficiently  long  continued 
to  bake  the  walls,  and  the  bottom  also  as  far  as  it  would  be  able  to 
descend.  Then  the  bones  and  commingled  soil  and  charcoal  were 
inserted,  and  a  new  layer  of  prepared  clay  placed  over  all,  upon  and 
around  which  again  fire  was  heaped,  until  a  solid  dome  in  continuity 
with  the  walls  was  baked  as  they  had  been,  and  a  fixed  kind  of 
quasi-urn  formed  to  enclose  the  deposit  there  committed  to  the 
ground. 


Investigations  of  Grave -Hills  in  Cleveland.     25-' 


o 


Another  observable  feature  in  this  and  some  interments  found 
under  similar  circumstances — that  is  to  say,  enclosed  in  a  small  pit 
or  cavity  hollowed  out  below  the  level  of  the  soil,  but  unaccompanied 
and  unprotected  by  urn  or  other  means — is  that,  mixed  with  the 
bones  and  charcoal,  there  was  found  a  considerable  quantity  of  an 
earthy  matter,*  the  origin  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  account  for,  and 
which  is  never  by  any  chance  found  among  the  bones  in  an  urn  or  in 
a  plain  inserted  interment.  It  is  of  a  brown  hue,  very  light  and  soft, 
and  does  not  appear  as  if  simply  due  to  a  vegetable  source,  and  still 
less  to  the  sandy  soil  of  the  moor  surface.  The  writer's  surmise  is 
that  it  proceeds  in  part,  at  least,  from  an  animal  source,  and  may  be 
due  to  the  incomplete  incineration  of  the  human  body  there  mingled 
Avith  its  parent  earth. 

The  excavation  of  the  other  houe  yielded  no  results  beyond  the 
ascertaining  of  the  fact  that  previous  disturbance  to  a  considerable 
extent  had  really  taken  place. 

An  attentive  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  attending  the 
deposits  just  described  seems  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  they 
belong  to  a  very  remote  period  indeed,  one  even  considerably  more 
remote  than  those  hitherto  noticed  in  this  series  of  papers. 

On  May  24  a  small  tumulus  of  about  25  feet  in  diameter  and 
2  feet  in  greatest  height,  and  situate  a  little  to  the  south-east  of  a 
larger  barrow  called  Brown  Rigg  Houe,  was  subjected  to  examination. 
On  commencing  the  work  at  a  point  about  6  or  7  feet  south  of  the 
centre,  and  ordering  it  so  as  to  carry  a  wide  trench  through  that  point 
northward,  a  very  flat,  conically  arranged  pile  of  stones  almost 
immediately  claimed  attention.  Removing  these,  and  proceeding  to 
a  careful  examination  of  the  soil  which  in  a  somewhat  raised  form  lay 
beneath  them,  signs  of  much  burning  were  immediately  disclosed. 
Stones  and  sand,  burnt  to  redness  and  intermingled  with  charcoal, 
formed  fully  as  much  of  the  substance-matter  as  the  unaltered  soil  of 
the  moor ;  and  further  research  showed  that  a  shallow  excavation  had 
been  made  on  the  spot,  a  small  pit  hollowed  at  its  lowest  point  to 
receive  the  interment,  and  then  the  excavated  soil  and  burnt  matters, 
mingled  together,  returned  so  as  to  fill  the  entire  cavity  and  form  a 
low  heap  above  it.  But  long  before  reaching  the  interment — im- 
mediately above  it,  however — an  axe-head  or  hammer  of  basalt  was 
found,  in  the  very  midst  of  a  quantity  of  charcoal  and  charred  soil 
and  stones.  Unhappily,  as  is  the  nature  of  the  basalt  found  in  the 
remarkable  dyke  intersecting  this  district,  the  substance  of  the 
hammer  was  so  weathered  or  corroded  that  it  proved  to  be  a  matter 
of  extreme  difficulty  to  remove  it  without  entire  disintegration  of  its 
parts  ;  and  as  it  was,  it  was  only  by  carefully  excavating  all  together, 
soil  and  hammer  in  one  mass,  that  it  was  brought  away  in  a  condition 
approaching  entireness.  A  crust  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
*  Gentleman' s  A/agazine,  1863,  vol.  i.,  p.  709  [ante,  p.  222]. 


2  54  Encampments,  Ea7'thzuorks,  Etc. 

thickness  was  almost  completely  deprived  of  coherence,  and  fell  away 
on  the  slightest  touch,  before  it  was  secured  by  the  absorption  of  a 
quantity  of  thin  cement.  When  it  became  possible  to  examine  it 
more  closely  it  appeared  to  have  been  very  carefully  wrought,  with  a 
bold  and  not  inelegant  curvature  of  outline,  especially  near  what 
must  be  called  the  face  of  the  hammer ;  and  to  have  the  entire  space 
surrounding  the  perforation  for  the  shaft,  both  above  and  below, 
sensibly  countersunk.  Very  different  in  outline  and  detail  to  the 
others  the  writer  has  met  with  here,  it  scarcely  yields  to  either  in 
original  elaboration  and  symmetry  of  form. 

Pursuing  the  search,  after  the  successful  removal  of  the  hammer, 
the  greater  accumulation  of  charcoal  which  was  met  with  about  a  foot 
below  the  place  at  which  it  had  been  found  afforded  sufificient  indica- 
tions of  the  vicinity  of  the  sepulchral  deposit.  It  was  found,  as 
already  noticed,  in  a  small  pit  hollowed  out  beneath  the  level  of  the 
moor  surface,  and  was  remarkable  not  only  as  being  intermingled 
with  the  same  kind  of  substance  as  that  described  above,  but  as 
obviously  comprising  only  a  small  portion  of  the  bones  of  an  adult 
in  the  prime  of  life.  What  there  were,  comprising  portions  of  the 
skull,  the  femur,  the  tibia,  etc.,  were  not  at  all  comminuted,  but 
rather  in  the  same  condition  as  those  which  so  frequently  fill  the  large 
urns  of  the  district,  or  those  spoken  of  in  the  earlier  portion  of  this 
paper.  But  there  was  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  whole,  as 
Avas  remarked  by  an  experienced  medical  man  who  was  present,  as 
well  as  by  the  writer. 

On  Saturday,  June  4,  a  tumulus  on  the  Guisborough  Moors, 
without  traditional  though  not  without  local  name,  being  designated 
as  Prettyhut  Houe  in  the  district  nomenclature,  and  which  was  one 
of  the  stations  of  the  Ordnance  Surveyors,  and  as  such  is  marked  in 
the  maps  as  1,079  feet  in  elevation,  was  selected  for  examination. 
This  hill  was  about  40  feet  in  diameter  and  not  less  than  6  in  height ; 
but  accurate  measurements  were  out  of  the  question,  in  consequence 
of  the  wholesale  disturbance  almost  every  exterior  part  of  the  houe 
had  been  subjected  to.  For  not  only  was  the  Sappers'  cairn  upon 
its  summit,  but  a  watcher's  hut,  now  roofless,  occupied  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  eastern  side,  and  the  materials  of  both  were  stones 
derived  from  the  tumulus  itself  Thus  the  stones  which  had  once 
girt  in  the  base  of  the  hill  were  all  gone,  or  all  but  one  or  two,  and  in 
other  places  it  had  been  greatly  pulled  to  pieces  in  the  process  of 
extracting  its  stony  material.  A  burnt  arrow-head  of  lance-head 
shape,  picked  up  on  the  outside  of  the  barrow,  suggested  the  prob- 
ability that,  while  these  disturbances  had  been  proceeding,  at  least 
one  interment  had  been  met  with — a  suggestion  which  the  labours 
just  commencing  did  not  at  all  invalidate,  for  at  a  subsequent  period 
it  was  found  in  one  place  near  the  centre  that  the  hill  had  been 
penetrated  to  the  very  foundation  of  the  pile  upon  the  solidly  fixed 


Investigations  of  Grav5-Hills  in  Cleveland.     255 

pavement  of  "  moor-stones."  However,  a  small  urn,  upright  and 
empty,  which  was  found  at  distance  of  i2\  feet,  a  little  to  the  east  of 
south  from  the  centre,  in  a  kind  of  rude  cist  or  chamber  of  small 
dimensions,  showed  at  an  early  period  of  the  investigation  that  the 
labours  of  the  day  were  not  to  be  quite  without  tangible  results. 
Later  on,  and  from  6  to  8  feet  nearer  to  the  centre  and  in  much  the 
same  direction  from  it,  an  inserted  burial  of  calcined  bones  was  met 
with,  which  apparently  had  been  placed  about  2\  feet  below  the 
surface.  No  urn  accompanied  this  deposit,  nor  could  any  bone 
implement  be  discovered  among  the  other  bones,  of  which  there  was 
a  considerable  quantity ;  but  a  very  large  and  perfect  knife,  of  a 
trapezoidal  shape,  unburnt,  and  a  nearly  entire  javeUn-head,  burnt 
until  it  resembled  fine  white  porcelain,  were  obtained.  And  with 
this  concluded  the  discoveries  of  the  day. 

The  urn  is  less  than  6  inches  high,  and  about  5  in  diameter  across 
the  mouth.  It  is  of  the  so-called  "  flower-pot "  shape,  and  only  the 
second  of  that  description  met  with  during  the  writer's  researches. 
The  ornamentation  consists  of  a  series  of  impressions  of  the  twisted 
cord  passing  completely  round  the  vessel,  three  on  the  inside  or  lip 
of  the  mouth,  one  on  the  outermost  edge  of  the  same,  and  the  others 
at  regular  intervals  below.  It  is  worthy  of  observation  that  the  other 
flower-pot-shaped  urn  (just  adverted  to)  was  obtained  from  a  tumulus 
which  lies  about  a  mile  due  east  from  the  one  at  present  under 
notice ;  and  that  in  it  also  a  burial  accompanied  by  an  unburnt 
knife*of  exactly  the  same  shape  and  character  as  that  just  mentioned, 
only  much  less,  and  a  single  large  piece  of  burnt  flint,  was  met  with. 
Such  correspondences  and  coincidences  very  surely  cannot  be  merely 
accidental ;  but  what  their  actual  value  is,  it  may  not  be  easy  yet  even 
to  attempt  to  define. 

Further  Discovery  of  Relics  connected  with  the 
Remote  Occupants  of  Cleveland. 

[1S64,  Prtrif //.,//.  304-30S.] 

It  will  be  in  the  recollection  of  our  readers  that  an  interesting  dis- 
covery of  shells,  bones,  querns,  etc.,  was  made,  some  months  since,  at 
Normanby  Bank,  in  Cleveland,  and  a  moderately  detailed  account  of 
the  same  was  given  in  this  journal  not  long  after  \ante,  pp.  241-246]. 
The  writer  has  now  to  record  a  somewhat  similar  find  made  in 
another  part  of  the  sam^  district. 

A  short  time  since  it  was  found  expedient  to  supersede  the  existing 
accommodation-road  to  Barnaby  Grange  Farm,  which  crosses  the 
Cleveland  Railway  on  the  level,  by  a  new  one  carried  beneath  the 
line.  While  prosecuting  the  necessary  excavation,  and  after  reaching 
a  depth  of  a  few  feet,  a  variety  of  bones,  most  of  them  in  exceedingly 
*  GentUman' s  Magazine,  1863,  vol.  ii.,  p.  127  [ante,  p.  229]. 


256  Earthworks,  Encav7pvients,  Etc. 

good  preservation,  and  with  an  abundance  of  earthy  phosphate  of 
iron  investing  them,  were  dug  upon.  These  were  carefully  collected, 
and  have  now  accumulated  to  a  mass  of  considerable  extent.  Besides 
the  bones,  an  occasional  fossil — rolled  specimens  only — was  picked 
out ;  a  mussel-shell  or  two  of  the  common  marine  species  ;  traces  of 
other  shells  in  some  numbers,  the  entire  structure  of  which  had 
become  obliterated ;  and  portions  of  some  larger  and  more  massive 
shell,  certainly  a  sea-shell.  But  the  most  remarkable  of  the  non- 
osseous  matters  was  a  folded  and  doubled  metal  plate,  embossed  and 
engraved. 

On  examination  the  bones  were  found  to  belong  to  the  horse.  Bos 
longifrojis,  the  swine,  and — at  least,  presumably — two  species  of  deer. 
The  skull  of  a  horse  is  there,  and,  from  the  crest  down  to  several 
inches  below  the  orbits,  in  very  good  preservation  ;  but  the  entire 
portion  comprising  the  bones  of  the  nostrils  and  the  extremity  of  the 
upper  jaw  is  wanting.  A  lower  jaw,  however,  Avith  five  of  the 
"  nippers"  still  in  their  places,  and  both  of  the  tusks,  is  present ;  as 
are  also  the  chief  portions  of  the  higher  part  of  the  same  jaw  on 
either  side.  Two  of  the  cervical  vertebrce,  together  with  the  first  bone 
of  the  neck  {atlas),  as  well  as  some  from  the  back,  occur  also ; 
besides  a  humerus,  one  or  more  of  the  bones  from  the  fore-arm,  or 
radius,  and  a  "coffin-bone."  These  bones  are  specified,  because 
from  a  comparison  of  them  with  each  other  and  with  the  correspond- 
ing parts  of  a  living  horse  of  fourteen  hands,  and  from  other 
comparative  measurements,  the  conclusion  seems  to  be  enforced 
that  they  were  constituent  parts  of  a  small  horse  of  not  exceeding 
thirteen  hands,  whose  characteristics  were  a  remarkably  long  head 
with  a  comparatively  broad  forehead,  much  vaulted,  and  with  a 
narrow  jaw,  a  round  hoof  of  full  size,  and  strength  rather  than  speed. 
It  is  more  than  possible  that  bones  from  the  skeletons  of  at  least  two 
horses  appear  in  the  collection  in  question. 

Further  portions  of  the  bones  from  the  head  of  at  least  four  speci- 
mens of  the  boar — not  to  refer  to  the  other  sex — ^are  present,  two  of 
them  with  the  tusks  still  in  their  places.  None  of  these  animals  seem 
to  have  been  very  large.  Bones  from  the  skeletons  of  Bos  longifj-ons 
were  found  in  greatest  abundance,  inclusive  of  the  upper  portion  of  a 
skull  with  the  horns  attached ;  and  besides  these,  not  a  few  which 
must  be  referred  to  deer.  A  fragment  of  horn,  about  4  inches 
long  and  li  inches  or  \\  inches  in  diameter,  independently  of  other 
criteria,  appears  to  indicate  the  red  deer  as  the  one-time  owner  of 
these  bones ;  and  there  are  constituent  parts  of  the  bony  structure  of 
several  such  animals.  Besides,  there  are  bones  which  may  have 
belonged  to  a  much  smaller  deer,  such  as  the  roe,  or  which  might  be 
due  to  a  sheep ;  probably,  however,  and  on  many  considerations,  to 
the  former. 

Next,  as  to  the  place  or  position  in  which  these  matters  were  found, 


Discovery  of  Relics  connected  with  Cleveland.    257 

and  the  concomitant  circumstances   noticeable  in  the  find.      The 
bones  were  met  with  at  a  medium  depth  of  8  feet  below  the  modern 
surface,  which  seems  to  have  been  raised  by  none  but  natural  means, 
and  in  a  deposit  which  was  evidently  due  to  the  agency  of  a  strong 
current  of  water.     Wherever  the  bones  occurred  in  greatest  numbers, 
the  surrounding  matter  was  composed  in  great  proportion  of  what  a 
sweeping  stream  would  be  sure  to  be  charged  with,  sand  or  silt, 
portions  of  various  vegetable  matters — such  as  moss,  twigs,  pieces  of 
stick,  knots  and  lumps  of  wood — shells,  small  stones,  and  the  like. 
And  all  these  deposits  were  laid   in  cavities  or  deep  basins  in  a 
gravelly  matrix,  which  itself  bore  unmistakable  evidence  to  the  fact 
that  it  had  been  borne  in  and  deposited  by  a  strong  current,  but  one  of 
varying  intensity,  and  almost  certainly  of  only  occasional  activity.  The 
bed  on  which  all  this  deposited  matter  lay  was  an  undulating  surface 
of  clay,  as  seen  in  section  ;  each  undulation  probably  representing  an 
original  natural  basin  of  no  very  great  size  or  regularity  of  form.     It 
appeared  to  the  writer,  moreover,  that  the  gravelly  beds  therein  de- 
posited must  have  been  peculiarly  liable  to  the  formation  of  gully- 
holes  from  the  continued  quieter  action  of  the  stream,  still  existing, 
which   occasionally  in  those  old  times  became  a  torrent,  and  that 
such  holes  would  naturally  become  the  receptacles  of  all  such  matters 
as  in  time  of  flood  might  be  expected  to  be  put  in  motion  before 
such  weighty  objects  as  the  large  stones  which  formed  some  of  the 
coarser  beds  of  gravel.     Such  a  gully-hole  is  at  present  to  be  seen 
near  the  trifling  run  of  water  above  referred  to. 

The  source  from  whence  the  residuary  matters  specially  under 
mention  were  derived  is  another  and  a  more  difficult  problem.  Not 
a  few  of  the  larger  bones  are  split  longitudinally,  though  the  variation 
in  this  particular  between  the  Normanby  bones  and  those  now  in 
question  is  very  striking  and  significant.  There  the  rule,  almost  un- 
broken, was  that  all  the  bones  which  had  contained  marrow  were 
found  broken ;  here  the  rule  is  the  other  way,  only  with  distinct  ex- 
ceptions. Still  these  broken  bones  must  point  to  human  agency ; 
for  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  they  should  have  been  broken  as 
they  are  by  any  other  instrumentality.  And  besides  these  broken 
bones,  the  presence  of  the  mussel-shell  and  of  the  more  massive 
shell  mentioned  above  proves,  even  to  demonstration,  the  active 
presence  of  human  beings  in  the  district  through  which  the  current 
swept  which  deposited  the  various  matters  now  under  notice.  The 
site  of  the  deposit  is  not  less  than  6\  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the 
sea,  and  the  hills,  in  the  descent  from  which  the  stream  acquired  its 
swiftness  and  force,  lie  \\  miles  more  seawards;  and  consequently 
the  sea-shells  must  have  been  carried  4  or  5  miles  inland  before  they 
could  have  come  under  the  influence  of  the  water  which  deposited 
them  where  they  have  been  found. 

Whether  the  horse,  in  common  with  the  ox,  the  pig,  and  the  deer, 
VOL.  v.  17 


2 58  Encavipinents,  Earthworks^  Etc. 

furnished  a  portion  of  the  food  of  those  who  transported  those  shells 
from  the  sea,  or  whether  it  had  been  domesticated  by  them,  is  a 
question  which  must  be  left  unsettled.  Perhaps  the  absence  of  all 
matters  appertaining  to  horse-furniture,  taken  in  connection  with  a 
remarkable  fracture  in  the  front  of  the  skull  or  forehead,*  may  lend 
a  faint  support  to  the  notion  that  it  supplied  food.  But  the  more 
probable  supposition  seems  to  be  that  the  bones  in  general  were  the 
bones  of  animals  which  had  died  in  the  course  of  nature,  yet  in  such 
places  that  they  were  not  out  of  reach  of  the  rushing  waters  of  an 
autumn  or  winter  flood,  which  swept  sufficiently  close  by  the  site  of 
human  habitations  to  carry  off  some  portion  at  least  of  the  refuse 
matters  accruing  from  the  different  sources  of  their  inhabitants'  sub- 
sistence. 

It  still  remains  to  notice  more  particularly  the  metal  object  which 
was  met  with  in  the  course  of  the  same  excavation,  and  at  no  great 
distance  from  some  portion  of  the  bones.  Apart  from  the  folding 
and  doubling  to  which  it  has  been  subjected,  it  is  in  remarkably  good 
preservation.  It  is  scarcely  corroded  in  any  perceptible  degree  in 
any  visible  part,  but  is  as  bright  as  on  the  day  it  was  consigned  to  its 
place  of  concealment.  Neither  is  it  bruised  or  dented,  except  where 
the  workman's  pick  happened  to  strike ;  indeed,  it  is  not  even 
scratched.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt,  from  the  application  of 
tests,  that  it  is  brass ;  whether  originally  washed  with  gold  is  un- 
certain. 

Folded  as  it  is,  and  displaying  barely  a  fifth  of  its  entire  surface  to 
inspection,  it  is  very  difficult  to  form  any  satisfactory  conclusion  as  to 
its  actual  form  or  original  intention.  Very  possibly  it  may  be  a 
cuirass  or  breastplate,  though  its  thickness  is  so  moderate  as  almost 
to  preclude  the  idea  that  it  was  ever  intended  for  actual  personal 
defence  in  battle.  If  so  intended,  it  could  have  been  a  defence  only 
against  comparatively  inefficient  weapons.  The  chief  ornamentation 
seems  to  depend  on  the  effigies  of  two  snakes  in  strong  relief  and 
wrought  hollow,  with  their  heads  meeting  about  that  part  which,  if 
the  article  were  a  breastplate,  would  have  covered  the  umbilical 
region.  The  bodies  of  the  snakes  slightly  descending  thence,  and 
diverging,  seem  then  to  have  taken  an  upward  direction  so  as  to  en- 
close or  enfold  the  central  portion  of  the  plate.  But  these  details 
cannot  be  ascertained  so  long  as  the  object  remains  in  its  present 
condition.  Besides  the  snakes,  on  which  the  scales  are  represented 
by  regular  series  of  curved  lines  carefully  engraved,  several  raised 
boss-like  projections,  which  themselves,  as  well  as  the  plate  around 
their  bases,  are  rather  elaborately  chased  or  engraved,  are  observable; 
and  the  outlines  of  certain  figures,  apparently  armed  in  a  fashion 
rather  resembling  a  Greek  soldier's  defensive  equipment,  are  visible 

*  See  the  notice  of  the  condition  of  the  skulls  of  oxen,  etc.,  found  in  a  kitchen 
midden  near  Carlow,  Gentletnati's  Magazine,  Augwsi,  1864,  p.  199.    [See  Note  18.] 


Discovery  of  Relics  connected  with  Cleveland.    259 

on  another  part  of  the  surface.  Besides  these  figures  and  ornaments, 
other  minor  ornamental  engravings  are  worked  in  here  and  there. 

The  age,  origin,  and  purpose  of  this  curious  article  must  for  the 
present  be  regarded  as  uncertain.  On  the  whole  it  seems  rather  to 
suggest  the  idea  of  Oriental  workmanship  ;  but  until  it  is  more  fully 
exposed  to  examination  it  will  remain  difficult  to  give  a  reasonably 
satisfactory  account  of  it. 

But  whatever  the  amount  of  uncertainty  thus  indicated,  there  was 
yet  an  observable  difference  between  the  relations  of  this  metal  object 
and  the  matrix  in  which  it  lay  embedded,  and  those  of  the  bones  and 
their  enveloping  matters,  which  deserves  attentive  notice.  "  It  lay  a 
foot  deep  in  the  gravel,"  was  the  remark  of  the  man  who  described 
the  find  to  the  writer ;  in  other  words,  it  lay  in  a  place  relatively 
different,  and  surrounded  by  matters  of  another  kind  from  those  which 
characterized  the  great  mass  of  the  bones  ;  many  of  which,  however, 
lay  at  a  very  small  absolute  distance. 

This  fact  leads  to  the  inference  that  it  was  deposited  under  different 
circumstances,  and  by  an  agency  of  a  different  kind  to  that  which 
deposited  the  bones ;  that  indeed,  and  almost  certainly,  it  was  de- 
liberately buried  in  a  hole  dug  for  the  purpose,  just  where  it  was 
found  ;  and  the  unbattered,  and  even  unscratched  condition  of  its 
entire  visible  surface  seems  amply  to  confirm  the  inference.  It  would 
almost  appear  as  if  it  had  been  folded  and  doubled  for  easy  carriage 
and  concealment,  and  in  due  course  hidden  in  the  earth — perhaps 
under  the  impression  that  it  was  of  more  costly  material  than  it 
actually  is — and  that  the  depositor  had  never  been  enabled  to  reclaim 
his  supposed  treasure  from  its  place  of  concealment. 

The  accumulation  of  8  to  10  feet  of  soil  over  the  lowest  of  these 
deposits  within  a  period  which  cannot  date  very  far  back  beyond  the 
historic,  again  presents  a  matter  of  comparison  and  study  to  the 
geologist. 


Further  Tumulus-Digging  in  Cleveland. 

[1865,  Fart  I. ,  pp.  16-19.] 

In  July  last  year  some  account  was  given  in  the  Gentleman's  Maga- 
zine* of  investigations  recently  made  by  the  writer  ;  he  had  already 
partly  explored  a  large  tumulus,  or  rather  such  part  of  it  as  remained 
untouched  by  former  diggers,  and  not  without  meeting  with  results ; 
these  results  he  now  proceeds  to  record,  together  with  others,  the 
fruit  of  further  researches.  The  tumulus  in  question  is  one  of  three 
lying  in  a  line,  and  with  only  the  space  of  a  few  yards  between  each 
two  in  the  group.  The  peculiar  interest  attaching  to  them  is  that 
they  are  in  close  vicinity  to  one  of  the  largest  and  most  complete 

*  Gentleman's  A/agazine,  July,  1864,  p.  19.     [yliiU,  p.  251.] 

17 — 2 


26o  Encampments^  Earthworks,  Etc. 

groups  of  ancient  habitations  in  the  district  hitherto  observed.  Un- 
happily all  three  of  them,  as  well  as  a  fourth,  which  lies  about  400 
yards  more  to  the  east,  have  been  subjected  to  merciless  and 
repeated  disturbance,  and  it  was  with  no  great  expectation  of  a  suc- 
cessful issue  to  his  labours  that  the  writer  proceeded  to  search  the 
southern  and  eastern  flank  of  the  central  one  of  the  three  houes.  Its 
diameter  is  scarcely  less  than  55  feet,  and  its  central  height  cannot 
have  been  less,  prior  to  modern  invasion,  than  8  feet.  It  is  overgrown 
by  long  ling,  and  a  good  deal  of  moss  among  its  roots.  But  still,  a 
little  close  examination  reveals  the  presence  of  the  encircling — or 
rather  encompassing — basal  stones,  yet  in  their  places  almost  all 
round.  A  trench  of  some  5  feet  in  width,  and  apparently  carried 
down  to  the  level  of  the  moor,  had  been  driven  right  through  the  hill 
in  a  direction  from  north-east  by  east  to  south-west  by  west,  with  the 
result,  as  the  writer  believes,  of  simply  discovering  that  a  still  earlier 
investigation  about  the  central  portion  had  issued  in  the  discovery 
and  destruction  of  a  central  deposit ;  but  no  particulars  were  accessible 
beyond  the  bare  fact  that  fragments  of  pottery  and  calcined  bone  had 
been  found.  The  writer's  examination  was  commenced  at  a  point 
due  south  of  the  centre  and  about  20  feet  from  it,  extending  on  the 
western  side  to  the  verge  of  the  existing  cutting,  and  carried  10  or  12 
feet  in  the  other  direction  also. 

On  reaching  a  depth  of  2  feet  or  so,  a  flooring  of  stone,  which 
proved  to  be  only  local,  was  found,  below  which  again  w^as  merely 
accumulated  earth  down  to  the  level  of  the  moor.  However,  at  a 
point  a  little  nearer  the  centre  and  within  a  foot  of  the  edge  of  the 
cutting,  the  spade  passed  through  a  portion  of  Celtic  pottery  which 
appeared  to  be  doubled  or  folded  in  a  singularly  anomalous  way.  It 
required  nearly  two  hours  of  the  most  patient,  and  careful,  and 
minutely  gradual  work  with  a  fine  trowel  to  make  out  the  nature  of 
the  discovered  relics  without  doing  material  damage ;  and  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  process  it  seemed  quite  impossible  to  come  to  any 
conclusion  that  was  satisfactory  as  to  the  nature  and  manner  of  the 
deposit  under  hand,  except,  of  course,  that  it  w^as  sepulchral.  There 
was,  together  with  a  large  quantity  of  burnt  bones,  nearly  the  entire 
mass  of  a  large  urn,  yet  not  simply  broken  up  by  superincumbent 
pressure  (as  is  so  often  found  to  be  the  case),  but  lying  in  the  most 
utter  confusion,  and  spread  over  a  larger  and  more  irregularly  shaped 
area  than  the  debris  of  any  simply  crushed  urn  could  ever  be  found 
to  occupy.  A  portion  of  the  bottom,  in  close  contact  with  two  or 
three  pieces  of  the  rim,  lay  at  the  north  side  of  the  deposit ;  more  of 
the  rim  was  found  a  foot  to  the  south,  and  then  another  piece  of  the 
bottom  in  contact  with  portions  from  the  most  protuberant  portion 
of  the  vase,  8  or  10  inches  yet  further  to  the  south.  And  they  were 
lying  in  all  directions,  some  pieces  on  their  concave  side,  others  on 
the  round ;  some  edge  uppermost,  others  obliquely ;  and  in  one  in- 


Further  Tumulus-Digging  in  Cleveland.      261 

stance  two  large  pieces  from  the  sides,  with  the  convex  parts  outwards 
and  lying  edge  to  edge,  enclosed  in  the  hollow  space  between  them 
other  two  and  smaller  pieces.  The  clue  to  the  whole- — for  it  was 
absolutely  clear  after  the  first  half-hour's  work  that  the  confusion  was 
due  to  no  modern  disturbance — was  given  by  the  discovery  of  a 
singularly  minute  and  delicate  incense-cup,  with  its  own  proper  de- 
posit of  incinerated  human  remains  and  accompanying  flints,  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  mingled  and  confused  mass  of  pottery  and  burnt 
bone  just  described.  This  cup  is  i  inch  in  height  and  under  \h 
inches  in  greatest  diameter,  of  red  ware  and  scored  with  lines  crossing 
each  other  diagonally,  but  so  as  to  leave  a  space  of  f  of  an  inch 
all  round,  nearest  to  the  bottom,  untouched.  It  was  placed,  mouth 
upwards,  in  the  centre  of  four  flints  laid  east,  north,  south,  and  west, 
and  consisting  of  a  very  flat  leaf-shaped  arrow-point,  another  of  the 
same  description,  but  thicker,  a  thumb-flint,  and  some  other  implement, 
but  all  of  them  coarsely  or  rudely  fashioned  and  chipped,  comparatively 
with  many  others  found  by  the  writer. 

-Taking  this  deposit  as  it  was  found,  it  was  impossible  to  come  to 
any  other  conclusion  save  one,  namely,  that  an  earlier  deposit,  the 
large  broken  urn  and  its  contents,  had  been  deliberately  violated  and, 
to  a  certain  extent,  displaced,  not  to  use  a  stronger  mode  of  expres- 
sion, to  make  room  for  a  later  interment.  And  this  again  raises  the 
question  so  often  before  suggested,  and  more  than  once  touched  upon 
in  the  present  series  of  papers,  "  With  what  motive  was  such  viola- 
tion and  displacement  made  ?"  It  seems  impossible  to  suppose  that 
when  so  much  reverence  for  the  departed  worthies  of  a  family  or  race 
existed,  as  is  proved  by  the  care  taken  in  piling  these  grand  tumulus- 
memorials  over  their  remains,  a  friend  could  ever  lightly  or  wantonly 
desecrate  an  existing  sepulchre  and  its  contents.  And  if  not  a  friend, 
then  at  least  a  stranger  ;  more  likely  a  victorious  foe. 

On  prosecuting  the  excavation  more  to  the  eastward,  the  writer 
met  with  another  interment  at  the  same  medium  depth  from  the  sur- 
face as  the  last,  and,  like  it  also,  about  18  feet  from  the  centre.  This 
consisted  of  an  incense-cup  of  peculiar  type,  accompanying  a  deposit 
of  calcined  human  bones,  with  a  wrought  flint  at  either  end  of  the 
layer  of  bones,  and  a  rubbed  or  polished  piece  of  red  haematite, 
weighing  perhaps  four  ounces,  in  closer  neighbourhood  to  itself. 
The  cup  was  most  beautifully  and  elaborately  marked,  the  greatest 
diameter  being  4^  inches,  but  the  aperture  of  the  mouth  barely  2 
inches.  Below  the  part  of  greatest  diameter  is  a  solid  foot  of  \  inch 
in  thickness  and  of  2\  inches  across — a  feature  of  very  unusual  occur- 
rence, if  not  unique.  Round  the  mouth  is  a  string  of  zigzags,  then  a 
double  line ;  between  it  and  a  similar  double  line,  half  an  inch  dis- 
tant, a  series  of  chevrons,  each  with  a  smaller  chevron  within  it  ; 
then  a  wider  space,  filled  in  with  chevrons,  set  vertically  and  close 
together ;  then  a  double  line  again,  and  round  the  bottom  a  similar 


262  Encainpmeiits,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

string  of  zigzags  to  those  round  the  mouth.  This  vase,  as  perfect, 
must  have  been  exceedingly  beautiful,  and  the  presence  of  the  piece 
of  iron-ore  (which  must  have  been  brought  hither  from  a  great  dis- 
tance, and  so  is  not  without  significance  in  a  secondary  interment  so 
near  the  one  last  described)  is  a  noteworthy  circumstance. 

The  writer's  next  exploration  was  made  in  a  houe  of  very  large 
dimensions  situate  on  Danby  North  Moors,  and  locally  known  as 
"Robin  Hood's  Butt  Houe."  It  is  about  95  yards  in  circuit,  and 
13  feet  from  the  moor-surface  to  the  existing  apex.  It  was  only  too 
evident  that  it  too  had  been  opened  about  the  central  portion,  but 
being  too  lofty  to  admit  of  sinking,  as  usual,  from  above,  a  drift  had 
been  taken  in  from  the  east  side,  while  the  labours  of  the  men  em- 
ployed by  the  writer  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  drift-makers  had 
found  t'iie  central  deposit,  which  had  been  placed  very  near  the 
centre,  at  a  height  of  about  18  inches  above  the  floor,  and  protected 
by  a  small  conical  pile  of  stones,  or  cairn.  What  the  deposit  had 
been  there  were  left  no  means  of  surmising  ;  but  one  find,  made  in 
the  looser  soil  on  the  east  flank  of  the  hill,  and  which  appeared  to 
have  been  brought  out  from  the  interior  of  the  houe,  must  not  be 
passed  over  in  silence.  It  consisted  of  about  a  hat-full  of  large  slices 
and  flakes  of  flint,  some  rough  as  when  stricken  off  the  original 
nodule,  others  rudely  chipped  into  form  as  if  for  further  working,  and 
a  few  which  had  been  already  submitted  to  such  further  working. 
The  resemblance  between  a  few  of  those  and  the  flint  implements 
from  the  drift  is  too  striking  not  to  be  noticed.  For  instance,  there 
is  one  which,  placed  side  by  side  with  the  engraving  on  p.  115  of 
Lyell's  "  Antiquity  of  Man,".,  gives  one  the  idea  that  the  drawing 
might  almost  have  been  made  from  it.  The  main  difference  is  in  the 
size,  the  engraving  being  on  the  scale  of  one  half,  while  the  flint  from 
Robin  Hood's  Butt  is  scarcely  half  an  inch  longer  than  the  figure  in 
question. 

There  was  one  secondary  interment,  discovered  on  the  south  side 
of  the  houe  at  a  depth  of  nearly  4  feet,  and  at  about  18  or  19  feet 
from  the  centre.  This  was  a  very  splendid  urn,  with  its  contents  of 
calcined  bone,  but  unaccompanied  by  flint  or  other  relics  of  the  past. 
The  diameter  of  this  urn  is  about  17  to  18  inches  at  the  most 
protuberant  part,  and  the  height  18  inches.  The  rim  is  beautifully 
ornamented  with  a  double  series  of  triangular  patches  of  thong- 
impressions,  separated  by  two  similar  impressions  passing  all  round, 
and  dividing  the  surface  of  the  rim  into  two  not  quite  equal 
portions.  It  is  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the  finest  in  the  writer's  col- 
lection. 

It  seems  hard  to  say  that  the  flints  last  described  may  not  have  a 
peculiar  significance.  The  writer  has  never  met  with  such,  nor 
heard  of  such  as  met  with  in  any  other  investigation  of  a  grave- 
hill,  and  one  would  think  the  resemblance  in  shape  and  fashion  to 


British   Villages.  263 

the  drift  "  hatchets "  can  scarcely  be  accidental.  That  the  inter- 
ments in  all  these  Cleveland  hills  mentioned  in  these  papers  are 
extremely  ancient,  the  writer  has  no  doubt.  Possibly  the  original 
interments  in  each  case  may  be  even  older  than  he  has  yet  ventured 
to  suggest. 

British  Villages. 

[1865,  Part  IT.,  pp.  715,  716.] 

Amid  the  crowd  of  scientific  inquirers  who  aim  at  ascertaining 
the  processes  by  which  the  present  structure  of  the  world  has  been 
attained,  or  at  reconstructing  the  various  forms  of  animal  life  which 
have  existed  in  early  periods,  it  is  only  natural  that  the  archaeologist 
should  have  a  place,  and  that  he  should  attempt  to  trace  the  early 
steps  of  man  himself  in  his  progress  from  rudeness  to  civilization. 

The  inquiries  of  recent  years  have  done  much  in  this  respect,  and 
every  well-ascertained  fact  regarding  the  condition  of  the  early  races 
of  our  country,  however  unimportant  by  itself,  cannot  fail  to  be  of 
interest  when  added  to  what  is  already  known. 

The  relative  sites  of  early  remains  are  frequently,  by  themselves, 
suggestive  of  a  past  condition  of  things,  as  may  be  illustrated  by  a 
reference  to  those  which  occur  in  the  valley  of  the  Breamish  and  the 
Till  in  Northumberland. 

This  rich  valley  is  bounded  on  either  side  by  ranges  of  hills,  on 
many  of  which  are  remains  of  camps  and  villages,  which  we  might 
guess  to  be  marks  of  an  early  resident  population  ;  but  when  we  find 
that  one  of  the  Roman  ways  was  carried  along  the  valley,  we  may  be 
assured  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  conquerors  of 
the  world  to  act  on  the  tribes  who  were  clustered  on  the  neighbouring 
hills. 

The  remains  which  are  yet  to  be  seen  at  Old  Bewick,  about 
the  middle  of  this  district,  are  sufficient  to  give  us  an  idea  of  a 
British  tribe  as  regards  it  arrangements  for  defence,  for  habitation, 
and  for  burial. 

On  the  hill  of  Old  Bewick  are  two  camps  of  a  horse-shoe  form, 
each  containing  several  acres,  protected  by  ramparts  of  great  strength, 
which,  on  the  exposed  side,  are  four  in  number.  Within  these  camps 
are  a  few  of  the  hut-circles  on  which  the  wigwams  of  the  people  had 
been  erected  ;  and  within  and  adjoining  the  easternmost  of  the  two 
are  several  rocks,  inscribed  with  those  circles  and  cups  which  are  at 
present  puzzling  the  antiquarian  world.  The  village  or  town,  how- 
ever, is  marked  by  clusters  of  circular  foundations  on  the  less  ex- 
posed slope  of  the  hill  below.  On  the  adjoining  moor  are  many 
cairns  of  varying  size,  which  mark  the  graves  of  the  tribe.  One  of 
these,  surrounded  by  upright  pillars,  like  those  commonly  called 
"  Druidical  Circles,"  was  recently  explored  by  Mr.  Langlands,  of  Old 
Bewick,  aided  by  the  Rev.  William  Greenwell,  of  Durham,  and  Mr. 


264  Encamp77ients,  Earthworks^  Etc. 

John  Stuart,  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland.  It 
was  found  to  contain  several  cists,  and  probably  had  been  a  family 
tomb.  The  central  cist  had  been  opened  on  a  former  occasion  ;  but 
the  other  two  were  found,  about  3  feet  in  length,  on  the  south-west 
side  of  the  cairn.  In  one  of  them  an  urn  appeared,  of  no  great  size, 
and  covered  with  incised  lines  of  varying  design.  The  urn  is  of  the 
class  associated  with  unburned  bodies  ;  but  here  no  trace  of  the  body 
was  discovered.  In  the  adjoining  cist  neither  urn  nor  remains  of  the 
body  was  found ;  but  a  careful  examination  of  the  yellow  subsoil  in 
the  bottom  of  the  cist  revealed  about  seventy  beads  of  jet,  which  no 
doubt  had  been  buried  with  some  lady  of  the  tribe. 

Another  British  village  is  placed  at  Linhope,  among  the  hills, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley.  It  consists  of  clusters  of  hut- 
circles  within  enclosing  walls  of  stone,  having  a  protected  path 
leading  down  to  the  neighbouring  stream,  while  on  the  adjoining 
moor  are  the  cairns  which  mark  the  burial-ground  of  the  towns- 
people. 

On  the  summit  of  Yevering  Bell,  which  rears  its  lofty  head  at  no 
great  distance,  is  another  great  camp,  with  hut-circles  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  hill,*  and  the  population  which  was  gathered  around 
it  in  earlier  days  was  continued  until  Saxon  times,  when  Paulinus 
— as  we  learn  from  Bede — was  engaged  for  several  days  together 
in  baptizing  the  people  in  the  neighbouring  stream  of  the  glen. 

Altogether  it  is  not  easy  to  find  a  district  so  rich  in  the  memorials 
of  early  times,  or  so  likely  to  yield  up  valuable  results  to  well-directed 
research.  Some  examination  has  already  been  made  at  Linhope  by 
the  Berwickshire  Club,  with  the  aid  of  the  late  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land ;  and  we  trust  that  the  Society  may  be  yet  further  encouraged  in 
their  useful  inquiries. 

We  may  direct  attention  to  extensive  groups  of  remains  resembling 
those  just  described,  one  of  which  occurs  on  a  moor  near  Kirk- 
michael  in  Strathardle,  and  the  other  on  a  moor  near  the  Kirk  of 
Lintrathen,  In  these  cases  the  cairns  and  hut-circles  appear  to  be 
mingled,  but  no  careful  examination  of  the  sites  has  hitherto  been 
made,  although  it  is  most  desirable  that  it  should  be  undertaken. — 
The  Scotsman. 

On  British  Hill  Fortresses. 

[i  840,  Part  II. ,  pp.  488,  489.  ] 

The  description  of  the  camp  of  Caractacus,  as  given  by  Tacitus,  is 
rather  obscure  to  such  readers  as  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of 
inspecting  similar  military  positions.  "  Tunc  montibus  arduis,  et  si 
qua  clementer  accedi  poterant,  in  modum  valli  saxa  prsestruit." — 
"  Posteaquam  facta  testudine,  rudes  et  informes  saxorum  compages 

*  Gentleviaii  s  Magazine,  October,  1862,  p.  455.     [See  Note  19.] 


Oil  British  Hill  Fortresses.  265 

distractse,"  says  the  historian,  when  speaking  of  the  attack.  (Annalium, 
B.  xii.,  c.  33,  35.) 

The  character  of  this  camp  may  be  understood  by  examining  the 
remains  of  one  still  remaining  at  Worle,  near  Weston-super-Mare.  The 
following  description  is  taken  from  Rutter's  "  Delineations  of  North- 
western Somersetshire,"  1829,  p.  53  : 

"Worle  Hill  is  an  insulated  ridge,  about  three  miles  long,  but  not 
more  than  a  furlong  in  breadth,  and  includes  a  view  of  not  less 
than  thirty  churches  from  its  elevated  summit.  The  western  end 
projects  into  the  Bristol  Channel,  above  the  town  of  Weston,  and  is 
formed  into  one  of  the  most  remarkable  fortifications  in  England. 
The  length  of  the  space  inclosed  from  the  inner  rampart  on  the 
east,  to  the  point  of  the  hill  on  the  west,  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
and  the  medium  breadth  is  about  eighty  yards,  making  an  area,  as 

supposed,  of  fifteen  or  twenty  acres Before  arriving  at  the 

outer  rampart,  seven  ditches  are  sunk  across  the  ridge  of  the  hill, 
out  of  which  it  is  probable  that  the  stones  were  drawn  which  formed 
the  ramparts ;  besides  which,  the  whole  ground,  for  a  considerable 
distance  in  front  of  the  camp,  is  still  covered  with  loose  stones.  There 
are  two  rmnparis,  about  fifteen  feet  high  from  the  bottom  of  the  ditch, 
composed  entirely  of  stones  loosely  placed,  without  a  blade  of  grass  or 
plant  of  any  kind ;  these  ramparts,  with  their  corresponding  ditches, 
cross  the  hill  in  a  part  where  it  is  about  one  hundred  yards  broad, 
and  then,  turning  westward,  are  continued  as  far  as  the  security  of  the 
station  required ;  those  on  the  north  are  soon  rendered  unnecessary 
by  the  rock,  which  is  there  precipitous  ;  those  on  the  south  are  gradually 
blended  into  the  natural  declivity  of  the  hill,  which  is  nearly  as  steep 
as  the  rampart  itself,  and,  like  it,  is  composed  of  loose  stones." 

I  have  marked  for  italics  the  expressions  v.-hich  correspond  with 
those  of  Tacitus,  whose  description  could  hardly  be  better  illustrated 
than  by  the  remains  at  Worle.  At  the  same  time,  his  own  words 
afford  a  reflex  light  to  the  camp,  which  thus  appears  to  have  been  of 
British  formation,  as  Mr.  Rutter  supposes,  but  without  adverting  to 
the  Roman  historian. 

Yours,  etc.  Cydweli. 

I  am  not  aware  that  any  account  of  the  British  hill  fortress  in  this 
neighbourhood  [Ilfracombe]  has  been  printed,  and  therefore  venture 
to  send  you  a  brief  notice  of  it. 

Hillsborough,  or  Elsborrow  as  it  is  called  in  old  writings,  on  which 
it  is  placed,  is  a  promontory  of  rock  of  about  300  feet  in  height,  and 
a  little  to  the  eastward  of  Ilfracombe,  one  half  of  which  is  defended 
by  the  sea ;  a  considerable  portion  also  is  an  acclivity  so  steep  as  to 
be  almost  inaccessible ;  and  the  remaining  part  towards  the  south, 
where  it  could  be  approached,  is  fortified  with  a  double  entrench- 
ment, inclosing  perhaps  forty  acres  of  land  altogether,  a  space  neces- 


2  66  Encai7tp?nents,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

sary  for  the  support  of  the  cattle  that  were  to  be  driven  into  it ;  but 
as  is  the  case  in  most  of  these  fortresses,  it  does  not  appear  that  water 
could  be  procured  within  its  limits,  but  a  spring  rises  just  without, 
from  which,  if  not  guarded  by  an  enemy,  it  could  be  procured  ;  but, 
indeed,  these  places  were  not  used  as  a  permanent  residence  or 
refuge,  but  only  as  a  temporary  retreat  from  the  attacks  of  a  hostile 
tribe. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  deepest  part  of  the  indentation  of  Broad- 
cove,  the  banks  commence  there,  and  run  nearly  from  north-west  to 
south-east,  keeping  parallel  for  something  more  than  half  their  length, 
when  the  outer  bank  diverges  from  the  inner,  and,  taking  a  lower 
line  across  the  hill,  thus  incloses  a  triangular  space  between  the  two ; 
and  here,  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  lines,  is  the  entrance,  which  pre- 
sents a  remarkable  feature,  for  at  the  outer  bank  it  makes  a  return  at 
right  angles  to  its  general  direction  towards  the  inner,  so  that  an 
enemy  attempting  to  force  an  entrance  would  have  to  advance  with 
the  right  side  exposed  to  the  men  placed  to  defend  it — an  arrange- 
ment studiously  attended  to  by  the  Greeks,  for,  as  the  warrior 
carried  his  shield  on  his  left  arm,  the  right  side  was  almost  un- 
guarded. 

These  banks  enable  us  also  to  draw  a  conclusion  of  another  nature, 
which  is,  that,  shattering  and  fragile  as  these  rocks  of  grauwacke 
would  seem  to  be,  they  are  in  reality  very  durable,  since  the  banks 
at  the  north-western  end  appear  to  be  finished  off,  and  do  not  pre- 
sent that  sharp  section  which  they  would  have  done  had  any  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  almost  perpendicular  rock  fallen  down  in 
the  long  period  that  has  elapsed  since  their  formation. 

Yours,  etc.         C.  W.  L. 

Camp  in  Devonshire. 

[1793, /'«;-//.,/.  513.] 

I  wish  to  hint  to  that  indefatigable  historian,  Mr.  Polwhele,  that  in 
the  parish  of  Morley,  or  Morleigh,  in  the  hundred  of  Stanborough, 
there  are  very  elegant  remains  of  a  camp,  whether  Saxon,  Danish,  or 
Roman,  I  cannot  at  present  say ;  together  with  several  large  tumuli, 
an  authentic  account  of  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover 
either  by  oral  tradition  or  history,  Risdon  barely  mentioning  the 
same.  Whether  this  spot,  vulgarly  called  Stambers,  gives  name  to 
the  hundred,  or  vice  versa,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  discover.  If  permission 
be  granted  me  this  summer  by  the  landholder,  it  is  my  intention  of 
opening  the  largest  and  central  barrow  :  if  anything  should  then  be 
discovered  worthy  the  attention  of  the  antiquary,  or  Mr.  Polwhele,  as 
historian  of  the  County  of  Devon,  they  may  depend  on  receiving  the 
same  through  the  channel  of  the  Geiitleman's  Magazine.    [See  Note  20.] 

Yours,  etc.        John  Laskey. 


Aggleston  Barrow.  i(i"j 


Aggleston  Stone  Barrow,  the  Devil's  Night-Cap. 

[1767,//.  169,  170.] 

The  following  account  and  drawings  of  a  very  _  remarkable 
monument  are  desired  to  be  inserted  in  your  next  magazine. 

I  am,  Sir,  etc.         J.  H. 

This  prodigious  stone,  hardly  equalled  by  any  in  England,  and  the 
greatest  piece  of  antiquity  in  this  county,  stands  in  the  north-east 
extremity  of  the  Isle  of  Purbeck,  in  an  heath  on  the  east  side  of 
Studland  Bay,  in  that  parish,  on  the  estate  of  John  Bankes,  of 
Kingston  Hall,  Esq.,  about  a  mile  north-west  from  Studland,  and 
six  leagues  from  the  Isle  of  Wight.  It  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
several  little  hills,  or  rising  grounds,  which  form  a  theatre,  except  on 
the  east,  where  they  open,  and  give  an  agreeable  view  of  part  of 
Pool  and  Studland  Bays,  and  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

The  name  "Aggleston"  seems  to  be  derived  from  the  Saxon  halig, 
or  hcelig,  holy ;  and  stan,  a  sfo7ie,  which  is  expressive  of  its  ancient 
superstitious  use,  for  it  was,  no  doubt,  a  rock-idol*  or  deity  in  the 
"  British"  age.  The  country  people  call  it  the  "  Devil's  Night-Cap," 
and  have  a  romantic  tradition,  that  the  devil,  out  of  envy,  threw  it 
from  the  Isle  of  Wight,  with  a  design  to  have  demolished  Corf 
Castle,  but  it  fell  short,  and  dropped  here. 

It  is  a  red  heath,  sand,  or  moorstone,  which,  though  very  common 
over  all  the  heath,  does  not  abound  hereabouts,  or  at  least  of  any 
bigness.  It  stands  on  an  high  barrow,  or  tumulus ;  its  present  form 
is  that  of  a  pyramid  inverted,  or  an  irregular  triangle,  one  of  whose 
sides  is  placed  uppermost,  though  it  is  probable  it  was  originally 
quadrilateral.  On  the  east  front  it  is  convex  or  gibbous,  on  the  west 
nearly  flat.  On  the  top,  a  ridge  or  bulge  runs  its  whole  length  from 
north  to  south,  whence  it  slopes  away  to  the  east  6  feet,  to  the  west 
5.  There  is  a  considerable  cleft  crosses  it  in  the  middle  from  east 
to  west.  On  the  surface  are  three  hollows  or  cavities,  no  doubtf 
rock-basins,  in  which  ravens  have  bred.  The  surface  is  overgrown 
with  heath,  and  turves  have  been  cut  there.  All  the  stone  is  rough, 
full  of  cracks,  fissures,  and  inequalities,  and  parts  into  horizontal 
layers,  especially  on  the  east  side,  and  at  the  ends. 

The  dimensions  may  be  seen  in  the  draught.  The  girt  or 
circumference  at  bottom  is  60  feet,  in  the  middle  80,  at  or  near  the 
top,  90.  But  these  measurements,  by  reason  of  the  inequality  of 
the  surface,  cannot  be  very  exact.  The  quarriers  compute  it  contains 
407  tuns. 

On  the  top  of  the  barrow  lie  several  stones,  one  of  which  contains 
16,  another  9  tuns.     On  the  sides  and  bottom  a  multitude  of  others, 

*  See  Dr.  Borlase's  "Antiquities  of  Cornwall,"  lib.  3,  cap.  3,  p.  161. 
t  Ibid.,  lib.  3,  cap.  2,  p.  225,  plate  17. 


268  Encanipmeiits,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

of  various  sizes,  mostly  covered  with  heath,  furze,  and  fern.  Some 
tunns  have  been  broken  off,  and  carried  to  Pool  and  Studland,  for 
building.  If  we  consider  this,  and  the  detached  stones  before- 
mentioned,  which  were  certainly  fragments  of  the  great  one, 
separated  from  it  by  violence,  time,  and  weather,  it  must  have  been 
a  prodigious  one  indeed,  not  inferior  to  the  "Tolmen"  at  Constantine 
in  Cornwall,  the  measurements  of  which,  in  Dr.  Borlace,  fall  short 
of  this,  though  he  makes  it  contain  more  tunns. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  ancient  Britons  had  skill  to  lift 
great  weights,  and  spared  no  pains  to  erect  such  vast  rude  monuments, 
many  of  which  are  extant  at  Stonehenge,  Abury,  in  Cornwall,  and 
other  parts  of  the  three  kingdoms.  Yet  the  enormous  bulk  of  this 
stone,  in  its  primitive  state,  may  incline  one  to  imagine  it  to  be  a 
natural  rock,  and  that  the  barrow  was  formed,  by  a  collection  of 
earth,  thrown  up  round  it;  or  if  the  barrow  be  thought  too  large  to 
be  artificial,  perhaps  the  stone  might  grow  here,  on  a  natural  hillock, 
and  the  earth  at  top  might  be  removed,  and  the  stone  laid  bare,  to  a 
depth  suitable  to  the  use  it  was  designed  for,  and  then  the  hillock 
might  be  shaped  into  its  present  regular  form. 

Yet  Silbury  Hill  in  Wiltshire,  and  many  other  vast  barrows 
allowed  to  be  artificial,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Borlace,  Lib.  III.,  c.  8.,  pp. 
205-207,  are  much  larger  than  this,  and  are  strong  evidences  of  the 
labour  and  time  bestowed  by  the  ancient  Britons,  and  other  nations, 
on  such  works. 

The  etymology  of  Aggleston  and  the  rock  basins  on  it  determine 
it  to  be  a  rock  idol,  erected  in  the  British  age,  and  the  object  of 
their  superstitious  worship. 

The  barrow  on  which  this  stone  stands  is  very  large.  Its  diameter 
on  top  is  60  feet,  at  bottom  it  occupies  half  an  acre,  and  14  rood  of 
ground.  Its  slope  on  the  east  side,  where  it  is  steepest,  is  300  feet, 
the  perpendicular  height  90  feet.  On  the  north  and  south  it  is 
nearly  of  an  equal  height.  On  the  west  it  is  much  less  steep.  It  is 
all  covered  with  heath,  furze,  and  fern.  On  the  top  it  is  concave, 
worn  down  by  sheep  lying  there,  or  by  attempts  to  break  off  stone. 
Round  the  bottom  appear  traces  of  a  shallow  ditch,  almost  filled  up, 
and  covered  by  heath,  etc.  About  it  are  several  other  barrows,  of 
different  forms  and  sizes.  On  one,  a  little  north  from  it,  called 
Puckstone,  is  a  stone  thrown  down  10  feet  by  8. 

This  monument  standing  in  an  unfrequented  part  of  the  country, 
and  hid  by  the  hills  that  almost  environ  it,  was  scarce  known  or 
observed  till  it  lately  drew  the  attention  of  James  Frampton,  of 
Moreton,  Esq.,  who  recommended  it  to  the  notice  of  the  public,  as  it 
deserved. 

The  "Tolmen"  at  Constantine  is  of  an  oval  form;  its  long 
diameter,  which  points  due  north  and  south,  is  32  feet,  its  short  one 
14 — 6.     Its  breadth  in  the  middle  of  the  surface,  where  it  is  deepest, 


The  Agglestone  Barroiv.  269 

from  east  to  west,  18 — 6.  Its  circumference  97  feet,  and  about  60 
cross  in  the  middle,  and  contains  750  tunns. — Dr.  Borlase,  ibid., 
1.  3,  c.  2,  p.  168,  Plate  II, 

[1836, /'a;-^ //.,/.  531.] 

In  "  Hutchins's  Dorsetshire,"vol.  i.^  p.  342,  will  be  found  an  account 
of  a  large  stone  on  a  supposed  tumulus,  called  the  "  Agglestone." 
It  is  situated  upon  Studland  Heath,  a  wide  expanse  of  waste  land 
south  of  Poole  Harbour.  It  stands  upon  the  extremity  of  a  ridge 
pointing  eastward,  and  is  of  enormous  size,  sufficient  to  attract  the 
notice  of  the  most  inattentive  passer-by.  The  general  notion,  accord- 
ing to  Hutchins,  is  that  it  was  an  object  of  Druidical  worship,  and  he 
derives  its  name  from  the  Saxon  Heilig  Stane,  or  Holy  Stone.  The 
stone  itself  is  a.  ferrtigino-arenaceous  concretion,  common  to  the  plastic 
clay  formation,  upon  which  it  stands.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  assert- 
ing that  no  human  power  ever  put  the  Agglestone  where  it  stands.  It 
is  evidently  a  portion  of  the  stratum  now  washed  away.  If  not 
actually  in  its  original  site,  it  may  have  been  rolled  there  by  diluvial 
motion.  At  all  events,  not  a  doubt  can  exist  but  that  its  origin  is  a 
natural  one,  and  this  by  no  means  militates  against  the  tradition  of 
the  holy  purposes  to  which  it  is  said  to  have  been  appropriated. 
Similar  instances  of  portions  of  destroyed  strata  capping  hillocks  are 
not  uncommon,  and  one  extremely  like  the  Agglestone  on  a  larger 
scale,  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  In  the  parish  of  Frensham  in 
Surrey,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  Devil's  Punch-bowl,  on  the 
Portsmouth  Road,  are  some  curious  conical  mounts,  in  the  green 
sand  formation,  called  the  Devil's  Jumps.  On  the  top  of  one  of  these 
rests  an  enormous  mass  of  the  iron  sandstone,  to  which  even  the 
Agglestone  must  yield.  It  did  not  escape  the  observation  of  Cobbett, 
who  in  one  of  his  Registers,  asked  "  how  a  stone  as  big  as  a  church 
steeple  could  ever  have  found  its  way  there  ?"  In  touching  on  the 
subject  of  barrows,  I  may  observe  that  those  on  the  heathy  districts 
rarely  produce  anything  but  charred  wood  and  burnt  bones.  Two  or 
three  were  opened  some  time  ago  on  the  heathy  land  between  Christ- 
church  and  the  New  Forest ;  and  I  was  recently  present  at  the  open- 
ing of  two  others  in  the  same  neighbourhood.  The  remains  of  bones 
were  scanty,  and  no  vestiges  of  pottery  were  discovered. 

Ancient  Cruciform  Mound,  and  Excavations  or  Cavities, 

recently  discovered  in  St.  Margaret's  Park, 

Herefordshire. 

[1853,  Par///.,//.  387-389-] 

As  evidence  of  the  works  of  a  former  people  that  may  yet  lay  dor- 
mant and  undiscovered,  at  all  events  unrevealed,  I  send  you  the 
accompanying  description  and  sketch,  which  may  possibly  tend  to 


2/0  Encainp7nents,  Earthworks^  Etc. 

throw  some  light  on  the  habits  and  history  of  the  early  inhabitants  of 
this  country. 

They  are  situate  in  an  extensive  wood  of  nearly  a  hundred  acres, 
called  St.  Margaret's  Park,  in  an  elevated,  undulating,  and  unfre- 
quented part  of  the  county,  approaching  to  the  Black  Mountains, 
about  thirteen  miles  south  of  Hereford.  The  wood  is  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  from  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  St. 
Margaret's  Church  to  within  half  a  mile  of  that  of  Bacton,  dechning 
gradually  from  west  to  east,  and  partly  so  to  the  north  and  south. 
The  church  is  on  the  same  ridge  or  hill,  or  rather  a  higher  elevation, 
in  a  retired  and  thinly  inhabited  district,  almost  unapproachable  for 
want  of  good  roads. 

Crucijorjn  Mound. — This  is  situate  about  the  centre  of  the  wood, 
its  western  arm  being  on  the  highest  ground,  and  its  eastern  on 
the  lowest ;  the  other  two,  the  southern  and  northern,  declining 
a  little  from  the  centre.  It  consists  of  a  longitudinal  half-round 
embankment  or  earthwork,  of  the  form  represented,  15  feet  wide 
at  the  base,  and  about  4  feet  high,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
section  : 

Its  extreme  length  is  about  68  yards  as  marked,  and  it  maintains 
the  shape  represented  with  singular  regularity  throughout,  except 
where  it  has  been  cut  through  by  a  temporary  roadway  in  the  wood, 
at  a.  Trees,  underwood,  and  thicket,  growing  on  and  surrounding 
it,  render  it  unobservable  and  difficult  to  trace,  and  he  who  would 
do  so  must  have  considerable  patience.  Its  existence  is  known  to 
but  few  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  solitary  district,  chiefly  woodmen, 
and  respecting  it  there  is  no  tradition.  An  old  respectable  inhabi- 
tant residing  within  a  mile  knew  not  of  it ;  and  the  late  Rev.  John 
Duncumb,  a  gentleman  of  considerable  research,  who  resided  within 
two  miles  and  a  half  of  the  spot,  does  not  notice  it  in  his  "History  of 
Herefordshire."  I  learn  from  a  workman  that  about  thirty  years  ago 
nine  large  yew-trees  were  felled  that  grew  around  it,  one  of  which 
was  of  gigantic  size.  That  it  is  of  considerable  antiquity  is  evident 
from  the  decayed  stumps  of  oaks  still  visible,  felled  ages  ago,  together 
with  more  recent  ones. 

Beginning  from  the  top  of  the  sketch,  one  horizontal  line  is  20 
yards  long  ;  the  upper  shaft  is  23^-  yards  long  to  the  point  where  it 
meets  the  lateral  cross,  while  the  remainder  of  the  shaft  is  2()\  yards 
long  ;  the  lateral  portion  at  the  northern  extremity  (the  bottom  of  the 
sketch)  measures  17  yards,  of  which  7|-  extend  westwardly,  and  only 
4^  eastwardly  of  the  shaft.  When  we  come  to  the  lateral  cross  which 
stretches  east  and  west,  we  find  that  the  eastern  half  is  24^  yards 
long,  while  the  western  is  only  12^  yards.  The  head  of  this  cross  is 
20  yards  in  length. 

The  Cavities. — The  first  of  these  is  situate  about  65  yards  to  the 
east  of  the  above,  is  basin-shaped,  with  a  flat  bottom  or  floor.    There 


Ancient  Cruciform  Mound  in  Herefordshire.     271 

being  a  slight  projection  into  it  at  one  point  interferes  with  its  other- 
wise complete  circular  shape.  It  is  about  140  yards  in  circumference 
outside  5  its  average  depth  about  5  feet,  exclusive  of  mud  and  de- 
cayed vegetable  matter ;  but  where  the  ground  declines  to  the  south- 
east it  is  very  shallow,  and  the  descent  into  it  is  slight  at  that  part, 
and  at  the  latter  is  a  partial  outlet  for  the  water,  yet  not  sufficient  to 
render  it  perfectly  dry,  even  in  summer.  It  is  at  present  enveloped 
in  bushes,  thicket,  and  rushes,  the  latter  6  feet  high,  withies,  etc., 
rendering  it  almost  impenetrable,  and  unobservable  by  the  casual 
passenger. 

The  second  cavity  is  situate  about  400  yards  south-west,  and 
nearly  that  distance  south  of  the  cross,  on  the  steep  southern  declivity 
of  the  wood.  It  is  oval-shaped,  its  narrowest  diameter  in  the  centre 
inside  about  32  yards.  The  entrance  to  it  is  on  the  south,  where  the 
descent  into  it  is  very  gentle  ;  but  the  bottom  or  floor  being  level,  or 
nearly  so,  so  far  as  could  be  discerned  for  rushes,  bushes,  and  dense 
and  rank  weeds ;  and  being  excavated  on  the  slope  of  the  wood,  the 
banks  increased  in  height,  so  that  at  the  back  or  northern  part  of  the 
oval  basin  it  was  upwards  of  20  feet  high  from  the  floor  to  the  top. 
No  perceptible  risen  embankment  or  mound  is  to  be  seen  about  either 
of  these  cavities  to  show  where  the  superfluous  soil  was  removed  to. 
Supposing  it  possible  that  the  earth  forming  the  cross  was  taken  from 
either  of  these  excavations,  it  would  have  to  ascend,  and  I  find  upon 
calculation  that  either  of  the  latter  would  contain  in  their  present 
state  more  than  eight  times  the  quantity  of  material  composing  the 
cross;  the  latter  would  contain  about  172  cubic  yards.  The  stumps 
of  several  yews,  and  young  ones  growing  therefrom,  are  to  be  seen  in 
their  immediate  vicinity. 

I  learned  that  some  pieces  of  pottery  were  dug  up  in  another  part 
of  the  park,  a  sight  of  which  I  could  not  obtain  ;  but,  being  desirous 
of  seeing  the  spot  where  they  were  found,  said  to  be  in  a  hollow,  I 
discovered  this  to  be  a  third  cavity  or  ancient  excavation,  of  a  circular 
shape,  larger  than  either  of  the  others,  being  about  160  yards  in  cir- 
cumference outside,  and  situate  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  park, 
about  2  So  yards  west  of  the  cross,  where  the  wood  slopes  more 
abrupdy  to  the  east.  The  western  or  higher  bank  of  the  basin  is 
about  20  feet  high  or  more,  gradually  lowering  to  the  east,  where  is  a 
narrow  entrance  descending  slightly  into  it ;  a  little  to  the  north  and 
east  of  this  are  two  other  narrow  entrances  of  greater  descent.  There 
exists  between  two  of  the  entrances  a  risen  mound  or  small  embank- 
ment, which,  as  before  observed,  does  not  appear  at  either  of  the 
others.  An  oak  of  nearly  2  feet  diameter  is  growing  in  the  centre, 
and  at  the  side  are  the  remains  of  a  short  pollard  oak  about  a  yard 
in  diameter,  hollow,  and  quite  dead. 

On  surveying  either  of  these  hollows  or  cavities,  covered  and  en- 
veloped as  they  are  in  all  parts  with  trees,  underwood,  decayed  and 


2/2  Encampments,  Earthworks^  Etc. 

partially  decayed  wood  and  vegetable  matter,  the  accumulation  of 
ages,  the  attentive  observer  will  not  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  sym- 
metry of  their  form  and  extent ;  and  it  will  occur  to  such  that  they 
are  works  of  art  formed  for  some  special  purpose  in  ages  "lang  syne," 
and  probably  in  connection  with  the  cross  mound. 

A  cruciform  earthwork,  similar  to  the  above,  but  not  so  complete 
or  regular,  was  described  by  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Moggridge, 
at  the  Ludlow  Meeting  of  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association 
in  August,  1 85 2,  as  existing  near  Margam,  Glamorganshire.* 
Numerous  are  the  relics  of  antiquity,  which  I  have  myself  examined 
in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom,  more  especially  in  Wales  and  Scot- 
land, in  the  shape  of  cromlechs,  carnedds,  cairns,  barrows,  pillars, 
Druidical  circles.ovals,  etc.,  etc.,  and  which  cannot  be  viewed  without 
marvel  and  astonishment  at  the  labours  of  a  primitive  age,  but  nothing 
approaching  in  character  to  this  mound  have  I  ever  seen  or  heard 
of;  and  however  much  the  hand  of  time,  the  spade,  and  plough,  may 
have  obliterated  in  other  countries  all  trace  of  such  works,  if  they 
really  existed,  here  at  least  they  exist  undisturbed.  Simple  earth- 
works are  considered  to  be  the  earliest  erections  of  a  primitive  people, 
which  appears  probable ;  and,  although  this  is  of  evident  antiquity, 
yet  it  is  questionable  whether  it  is  of  an  age  anterior  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity,  of  which  it  is  probably  a  symbol.  Anything  of 
a  cruciform  shape,  I  believe,  did  not  obtain  in  any  country  previous 
to  that  era,  except  as  a  punishment.  I  believe  the  Christians  did  not 
adopt  the  tumuli  or  barrow  system  of  sepulture  ;  nor  do  any  of  the 
numerous  sepulchral  erections  of  this  kind  approach  in  form  to  this 
peculiar  and  complicated  shape  ;  yet  this  is  possibly  an  example  to 
the  contrary,  which  I  will  endeavour  to  ascertain,  with  permission  of 
the  proprietor.  It  may  be  observed,  that  this  particular  form  is  not 
adapted  for  a  place  of  worship,  for  preaching  the  gospel ;  still  this 
may  have  been  the  case  before  the  erection  of  churches,  or  it  may 
have  been  erected  to  impress  the  Christian  religion  on  the  minds  of 
the  people.  That  those  who  erected  it  were,  at  that  period,  the  pre- 
vailing sect,  or,  at  all  events,  the  strongest,  is  obvious,  as,  from  the 
time  and  number  of  hands  employed  in  its  erection,  they  would  be 
liable  to  be  interfered  with,  if  not  persecuted,  as  the  introducers  of  a 
new  religion  almost  invariably  were,  by  the  dominant  sect.  However, 
this  is  peculiarly  a  subject  for  the  consideration  of  your  antiquarian 
readers. 

With  regard  to  the  basins  or  cavities,  I  perceive  in  your  magazine 
for  August  last  that  cavities  somewhat  similar  exist  at  Stoke  Down, 
near  Chichester,  believed  by  Mr.  Saull,  who  has  published  an  essay 
on  the  subject,  to  be  the  remains  of  a  British  village  ;  but  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Archaeological  Institute  held  at  the  latter  city,  as 
appears  by  your  report  (p.  183),  the  Rev.  L.  V.  Harcourt  considered 
*  See  GentlemaiC s  Magazine,  October,  1852,  p.  405.    [See  Note  21.] 


Ancient  Cruciform  Moimd  in  Herefordshire.   273 


they  were  not  adapted  for  habitation,  being  "  so  shaped  as  to  collect 
the  water  in  their  immediate  vicinity,  and  that  Caesar  had  stated  that 
the  Britons  lived  in  houses  after  the  manner  of  the  Gauls." 

To  whatever  purpose  the  cavities  at  St.  Margaret's  were  really 
applied,  they  are,  certainly  two  of  them,  admirably  adapted  for  a 
simple  roof  of  the  nature  of  what  in  building  is  termed  a  "  lean-to." 
They  could  with  facility  be  prevented  from  receiving  the  water  in 
their  immediate  vicinity,  and  with  equal  facility  could  they  b»  ren- 
dered perfectly  dry  by  drainage.  Caesar,  I  apprehend,  may  not  have 
visited  St.  Margaret's.  Of  that  portion  of  England  visited  by  the 
Romans  what  he  says  may  be  correct ;  whilst  in  other  parts,  in  more 
backward  and  uncivilized  districts,  inhabited  possibly  by  different 
tribes,  other  habits  might  prevail,  and  they  might  live  in  woods,  caves, 
and  hollows.  A  person  seeing  the  mud-constructed  dwellings  com- 
posing some  of  the  villages  of  Devonshire,  would  not  be  correct  in 
saying  that  such  houses  generally  exist  in  England. 

In  some  parts  of  Scotland,  especially  in  the  Highlands,  houses  are 
numerous  without  either  window  or  chimney,  the  door  answering  the 
double  purpose  of  letting  in  the  light  and  out  the  smoke  !  The 
dwelling  in  which  the  late  Mungo  Park  was  born  and  reared,  with 
nine  other  children,  was  of  this  description — the  farm-house  of  the 
family  consisting  of  but  one  single  room,  20  feet  by  14 — and  this  is 
in  the  Lowlands  !  and  the  gudewife  of  the  last  surviving  brother,  the 
late  Mr.  John  Park  (hospitable  people,  since  residing  in  a  comfort- 
able new  dwelling),  informed  the  writer  of  this,  that  his  mother  when 
living  was  wont  to  say  that  "it  was  the  brawest  hoose  in  a'  Yarrow." 
It  is  now  used  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Instances  are  these  of  habitations  exhibiting  such  want  of  absolute 
necessaries — with  others  I  need  not  name — so  much  at  variance  with 
other  parts  of  the  same  country  •  imitating,  with  little  improvement, 
even  with  the  single  floor  and  low  entrance,  the  natural  habitation  of  the 
cave  or  cavern,  where  nature  had  not  provided  those  requisites  (save 
the  one  aperture)  for  the  escape  of  smoke  and  the  admission  of  light; 
verifying  the  adage,  that  "one-half  the  world  know  not  how  the  other 
half  Hve." 

I  trust,  Mr.  Urban,  that  I  have  given  sufficient  description  of  the 
works  at  St.  Margaret's  to  enable  you  or  your  antiquarian  readers  to 
form  an  opinion  of  their  origin  ;  and  am  sorry  it  has  not  fallen  to  the 
lot  of  abler  hands  to  describe  them. 

Yours,  etc.        Thos.  Jenkins. 

Walbury,  Essex. 

[1865,  Part  II.,  pp.  760,  761.] 

My  visit  to  Bradwell,  described  in  a  recent  Gentlemaiis Magazine* 

*  Gentlevtafis  Magazine,  October,  1865,  p.  403  et  seq.  [This  is  a  Roman 
station,  and  will  appear  in  the  volume  on  Roman  Archeology.] 

VOL.   V.  18 


2  74  Encampments^  Earthworks,  Etc. 

was  prefaced  by  the  examination  of  a  very  remarkable  earthwork, 
near  Sawbridgeworth,  to  which  I  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Francis 
Rivers.  It  is  comparatively  little  known  ;  but  it  is  highly  interesting 
from  its  position,  its  extent,  and  from  the  depth  and  magnitude  of 
the  vallum.  I  take,  however,  this  opportunity  of  directing  attention 
to  it  in  connection  with  many  other  ancient  fortifications  formed  on 
a  similar  plan,  some  of  which  are  even  more  extensive  than  this. 
Almost  invariably  they  are  set  down  and  spoken  of  as  Roman,  but, 
I  think,  without  due  and  full  consideration.  Salmon  and  Morant 
both  call  it  Roman  ;  and  having  thus  made  up  their  minds,  they 
bring  forward  most  inconclusive  evidence  in  support  of  their  opinions. 
The  Hon.  R.  C.  Neville  also  terms  it  a  Roman  camp  in  his  "  Sepulchra 
Exposita,"  p.  47.  He  gives  a  report  on  it  made  by  Mr.  Frye,  of 
Saffron  Walden,  who  ascertained  that  no  Roman  remains  had  ever 
been  found  there.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Frye  could  not  learn  that 
any  coins  of  Cunobeline  (as  has  been  asserted)  had  ever  been  dug 
up.  Walbury  lies  about  midway  between  Bishop's  Stortford  and 
Sawbridgeworth,  upon  an  eminence  overlooking  the  river  Stort.  The 
surrounding  ditch  is  of  great  depth  and  width,  and  is  well  preserved, 
except  on  one  side,  where  it  has  been  filled  up  for  agricultural 
purposes.  On  the  side  facing  the  Stort  are  what  may  be  called 
postern  entrances,  intended  apparently  (as  Mr.  F.  Rivers  suggested) 
for  cattle  and  horses  to  descend  to  the  low  ground  for  water.  The 
extent  of  ground  enclosed  is  thirty  acres. 

Walbury  is  a  fine  and  good  example  of  these  fortified  places,  which, 
as  I  before  observed,  are  usually  called  Roman.  It  would  be  easy 
to  cite  dozens  of  instances,  but  for  the  present  purpose  one  at  hand 
may  suffice.  Hasted,  in  his  "  History  of  Kent,"  writes  :  "At  Oldberry 
(near  Ightham)  there  are  the  remains  of  a  very  considerable  entrench- 
ment, which  is,  without  doubt,  of  Roman  origin.  It  is  of  an  oval 
form,  and  contains  within  its  bounds  the  space  of  137  acres."  This 
may  be  said  to  be  unusually  extensive,  but  it  is  clear  they  all 
belong  to  a  certain  class  of  fortifications  constructed  upon  one  and 
the  same  principle.  It  seems  that  a  consideration  of  the  number 
of  troops  required  to  defend  these  camps  called  Roman,  has  never 
entered  into  the  minds  of  those  who  have  so  termed  them.  Such 
places  would  be  mere  traps  in  which  weak  garrisons  could  be  taken 
at  any  time  by  a  strong  besieging  force ;  and,  situated  as  most  of 
these  earthworks  are,  it  is  difificult  to  understand  what  strategic 
purpose  they  would  have  answered  in  the  hands  of  Romans.  Hod 
Hill,  in  Dorsetshire,  is  an  interesting  exception,  but  that  is  not  of 
Roman  origin  :  the  Romans  used  it  and  drew  their  camp  within  it ; 
but  at  Walbury,  Oldbury  (near  Ightham),  and  other  similar  places, 
we  never  find  the  slightest  Roman  remains,  such  as  are  always  met 
with  where  Roman  soldiers  were  stationed.  If  we  consider  these 
places  as  British,  they  can  be  well  understood.     They  are  sufficiently 


Remains  on  the  Kentish  Downs.  275 


extensive  for  a  large  population,  and  for  the  protection  also  of  cattle 
and  horses;  in  short,  I  think  we  may  recognise  in  them  British 
oppida  ;  and  this  view  is  identical  with  that  of  my  friend  Mr.  Charles 
Warne,  who  has  studied  so  closely  and  so  successfully  the  ancient 
earthworks  of  Dorsetshire. 

In  reaching  Bradwell  from  Sawbridgeworth  across  Essex  (after 
staying  a  night  with  Mr.  Rivers),  I  was  indebted  to  the  kindness  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Clarke  and  Mr.  John  Barnard  for  an  agreeable  drive  to 
Chelmsford.  C.  Roach  Smith. 

Remains  on  the  Kentish  Downs. 

[1838,  Part  II.,  p.  308.] 

As  the  farm-servants  of  W.  Nethersole,  Esq.,  were  employed  in 
digging  chalk  from  a  pit  in  one  of  his  fields,  at  West  Street,  about 
four  miles  from  Deal,  Kent,  they  opened  into  a  structure  which  bears 
evident  marks  of  design  and  manual  labour. 

Before  the  men  had  noticed  anything  peculiar  they  had  opened  the 
structure  at  one  side  from  top  to  bottom,  and  what  first  struck  their 
attention  was  the  large  blocks  of  chalk,  which  were  much  more  dense 
and  compact  than  that  in  which  they  previously  had  been  digging. 
They  now  saw  that  they  had  opened  a  cavity  in  the  chalk  which 
descends  perpendicularly  from  the  surface  to  the  depth  of  between 
4  and  5  feet ;  this  was  filled  with  the  common  mould,  and  was  re- 
moved with  the  greatest  care,  when  the  blocks  of  chalk  were  observed 
to  be  continued  all  round  the  interior,  so  that  the  cavity  must  have 
been  built  in  the  manner  of  a  draw-well.  Between  each  stratum  of 
the  chalk-blocks  was  interposed  a  layer  of  tile.  The  dimensions  of 
each  block  are  about  7  inches  thick,  somewhat  wedge-shaped,  and 
varying  from  8  inches  to  i  foot  in  breadth  and  depth. 

They  are  united  to  each  other  by  mortar,  of  a  clay-colour,  which 
now  is  less  frangible  than  the  chalk.  Before  the  structure  was  in- 
jured, there  must  have  been  about  twenty  square  holes  in  the  wall, 
all  of  which  were  filled  with  mould  ;  they  were  formed  by  the  blocks 
of  chalk  being  here  and  there  placed  to  a  distance  of  6  or  7  inches 
from  each  other,  and  the  hand  can  be  thrust  into  each  for  the  depth 
of  about  10  inches.  These  holes  give  it  something  of  the  appearance 
of  the  interior  of  a  pigeon-cot. 

The  cavity  is  6  feet  in  diameter,  between  4  and  5  feet  deep,  and 
the  middle  part  of  the  bottom  is  hollowed  out  to  about  10  inches 
more.  The  mould  which  the  cavity  contained  was  carefully  examined, 
and  a  number  of  bones  were  found  belonging  to  the  pig,  sheep,  and 
rabbit,  but  not  sufficient  to  form  the  skeleton  of  the  animals.  Besides 
these,  were  found  some  old  iron  nails,  which  are  oxidized  through 
and  through,  about  4  inches  long,  as  thick  as  a  little  finger,  and  with 
very  broad  heads.      Some  bits  of    marble  were  found,  which  are 

18—2 


276  Encampments,  Earthzvorks,  Etc. 

slightly  concave  on  one  side,  and  convex  on  the  other,  like  fragments 
of  a  broken  vessel.  There  were  two  lumps  of  Kentish  rag,  which, 
although  they  did  not  tally,  seemed  to  belong  to  the  same  vessel,  and 
must  have  been  much  like  a  utensil  once  used  for  grinding  corn,  if 
not  for  the  very  purpose,  called  in  Scotland  a  quhairn,  and  in  England 
a  quern. 

FiNITIMUS. 

Ancient  Encampment  at  Knaptoft. 

[1787,  Pari  II.,  p.  657.] 

Being  lately  from  home  on  a  little  excursion,  I  fortunately  dis- 
covered the  site  of  an  ancient  encampment  in  the  parish  of  Knaptoft, 
in  Leicestershire,  which,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  has  never  been 
noticed  ;  yet  so  conspicuous  from  the  adjoining  turnpike-road,  it  is 
surprising  it  should  have  so  long  escaped  the  eye  of  even  a  less  atten- 
tive observer.  I  regretted  for  a  moment  that  an  engagement  pre- 
vented my  stopping  to  take  a  nearer  view ;  but  my  visit  being  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  place,  I  returned  the  next  morning  and 
sketched  a  plan,  with  a  survey  of  the  adjacent  lands,  reducing  the 
admeasurement  into  geometrical  paces.  The  dimensions  may  not  be 
perfectly  exact  for  want  of  proper  instruments  ;  but  I  believe,  upon 
the  whole,  it  is  sufficiently  accurate.  I  herewith  present  you  the 
rough  draught,  such  as  it  is,  taken  on  the  spot ;  to  which  I  have  since 
added  a  tomb  with  an  ancient  martial  trophy  of  my  own  composing, 
designed  as  a  vignette  to  place  thereon  the  title,  which,  at  the  same 
time,  will  save  your  engraver  the  trouble  of  forming  a  better.  You 
will,  undoubtedly,  expect  some  account  with  my  private  opinion  of 
these  curious  vestigia.  To  answer  this  point,  you  must  be  satisfied 
at  present  with  mere  conjecture  only.  It  is  little  more  than  a  fort- 
night since  the  discovery,  and,  after  many  inquiries,  I  could  gain  no 
intelligence,  or  any  tradition,  from  the  neighbourhood  respecting  it. 
The  proprietor  of  the  ground  himself  was  as  deficient  as  the  rest,  and 
totally  ignorant  in  these  matters.  The  only  material  information 
from  him  that  served  my  purpose  was  that  some  years  ago,  in  digging 
a  pit,  the  labourers  brought  up  a  large  flat  stone  (but  no  inscription), 
and  several  others  of  a  rude  form.  This,  with  some  other  particulars 
then  related,  assured  me  of  its  having  been  the  place  of  interment  of 
some  warrior. 

Similar  sepulchres  are  frequently  found,  whose  sides,  formed  by 
irregular  stones,  are  covered  with  a  large  flat  stone.  One  of  the 
kind  was  lately  found  at  Market-Bosworth,  with  this  difierence,  that 
the  cover  was  made  of  burnt  clay.  These  sort  of  tumuli  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  represent  in  the  corner  of  the  plan.  From  this,  and 
other  appearances,  I  dare  not  pronounce  the  premises  a  Roman 
military  work,  rather  British  or  Saxon,  perhaps  a  Danish  entrench- 
ment.    Its  situation  from  either  the  Fosse  or  Watling  Street  does  not 


Enca77tpments  in  Leicestershire.  277 

seem  to  favour  the  first  conjecture.  It  is  distant  ten  miles  south  from 
Leicester,  about  seven  miles  east  from  the  Watling  Street,  nine  miles 
south  from  the  Fosse,  and  about  the  midway  between  Leicester  and 
Naseby  in  Northamptonshire.  I  wish  for  the  opinions  of  your  an- 
tiquarian readers,  to  throvi^  some  farther  light  on  this  curious  and 
long-neglected  remain.  However,  I  am  not  a  little  flattered  by  having 
luckily  made  the  first  discovery,  and  shall  be  more  so  if  you  judge  it 
worth  displaying  in  your  useful  repository.  In  the  meanwhile,  if 
anything  new  can  be  collected  relating  to  this  place,  I  shall  take  an 
early  opportunity  of  communicating  it. 

jRefere?tces  to  the  plan.     \^See  PL  11.] 

A,  the  camp. 

B,  the  trench,  or  line  of  circumvallation. 

C,  the  principal  entrenchment  or  fortress. 

D,  a  raised  mount,  not  above  8  feet  high,  supposed  to  have  been 
considerably  lowered  by  the  plough. 

E,  a  pond  having  a  constant  spring. 

F,  the  place  of  the  tumulus. 

G,  the  turn-pike  road,  from  Leicester  to  London,  through  Wel- 
ford. 

Yours,  etc.         Observator. 

[1787,  Part  II.,  fp.  1059,  1060.] 

I  find,  in  p.  657,  an  account  of  an  encampment  in  Leicestershire, 
the  discovery  of  which  seems  to  have  afforded  your  correspondent 
very  singular  satisfaction.  My  visit  to  this  place  was  about  two 
months  after  that  of  "  Observator."  I  compared  his  account  and 
plan  with  the  site  of  the  encampment,  and  quickly  perceived  that 
had  he  been  less  elated  with  the  discovery,  his  accounts  would  have 
been  far  more  accurate  and  faithful.  The  true  figure  of  the  encamp- 
ment is  rather  an  isosceles  than  a  scalemwi.  The  pond  is  quite  out  of 
its  place,  and  the  stream  represented  as  running  from  it,  is,  I  imagine, 
like  the  vignette,  intended  for  an  embellishment ;  no  stream,  nor 
channel  of  a  stream,  being  visible.  The  pond  is  not  fed  by  a  per- 
petual stream ;  the  proprietor  has  often  remembered  it  dry.  The 
eastern  limit  of  the  encampment  is  delineated  as  a  straight  line  ;  it 
ought  to  have  been  a  compound  curve.  The  western  side  is  7iot 
parallel  with  the  London  road,  as  exhibited  in  the  plan ;  it  diverges 
very  sensibly  towards  the  southern  extremity  of  the  supposed  camp. 
The  distances  of  this  place  from  others,  mentioned  by  "  Observator," 
are  far  from  accurate.  The  mount  could  never  have  been  lowered 
by  the  plough.  Of  the  effects  of  a  plough,  either  on  or  near  the 
mount,  there  is  not  the  least  vestige  discoverable.  This,  at  least, 
"Observator"  might  have  learned  from  those  of  whom  he  complains 
that  they  were  unable  to  satisfy  his  inquiries  concerning  the  history 


278  Encampments^  Earthworks,  Etc. 


of  the  place.  I  have  often  thought  that  an  antiquary  never  appears 
to  such  advantage  as  when  his  information  is  scanty  and  incomplete. 
And  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  circumstances  of  "  Observator " 
were,  on  this  account,  highly  advantageous.  He  tells  us  he  had  no 
hint  to  follow,  no  tradition  to  inform  him,  nor  popular  tale  to  found 
a  conjecture  upon.  At  last  he  was  told  that  in  digging  a  pit  within 
the  enclosure,  a  flat  stone,  with  others  of  a  rude  form,  without  any 
inscription,  had  been  found.  From  these  very  slender  data,  "  Obser- 
vator "  "  was  assured  "  that  some  warrior  was  there  interred.  It  is 
painful  to  me  to  inform  that  gentleman,  as,  I  doubt  not,  it  will  be 
to  him  to  be  informed,  that  the  said  flat  stone  was  not  found  within 
the  entrenchment,  but  at  a  distance  from  it.  However,  if,  in  lieu  of 
the  said  flat  stone,  with  which  "  Observator "  had  no  busmess,  the 
following  intelligence  be  in  any  degree  serviceable  to  him,  he  is 
heartily  welcome  to  it.  The  land  on  which  is  the  site  of  the  supposed 
encampment  anciently  belonged  to  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of 
Jerusalem ;  and,  at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  half  from 
that  land,  "  Observator "  may  have  the  pleasure  of  viewing  another 
encampment  and  tumulus,  whenever  he  is  disposed  to  revisit 
that  part  of  Leicestershire.  They  lie  in  the  parish  of  Husband's 
Bosworth.  But  I  hope  that  if  "  Observator "  favours  you  with  any 
future  plans  or  accounts,  either  of  this  or  other  ancient  places,  he 
will  learn  to  be  more  accurate  and  more  faithful  than  in  that  which 
has  occasioned  these  remarks  of 

ACADEMICUS  LeICESTRIENSIS. 

Encampments  in  Leicestershire. 
[1788,  Part  11.,  p.  688.] 

If  it  be  any  satisfaction  to  you  to  have  a  further  account  of  the 
encampment  and  tumulus  near  Husband's  Bosworth  in  Leicestershire, 
mentioned  in  Vol.  Ivii.,  p.  1059,  I  am  happy  to  lay  before  you  my 
observations  made  on  the  spot.     Explanation  : 

B.  Three  sides  of  a  parallelogram,  of  which  the  two  long  sides 
measure  each  65  yards  3  inches  ;  the  shorter  side  measures  36  yards. 
The  three  sides  are  formed  by  large  mounds  of  earth  ;  no  fosse  ap- 
pears ;  the  earth  must  have  been  carried  from  a  distance. 

C.  Another  bank  or  mound,  1 7  yards  in  length,  without  any  fosse  ; 
part  in,  and  part  without,  the  parallelogram. 

D.  A  mount  about  3  feet  high,  the  base  25  yards;  at  the 
distance  from  the  parallelogram  between  60  and  70  yards  north. 

F.  Another  bank  or  mound,  1 1  yards  2  feet  9  inches  in  length  ;  at 
the  distance  ot  i  yard  from  the  mount. 

The  distance  from  Leicester,  south-south-east,  is  14  miles ;  from 
Naseby  6  miles. 

ACADEMICUS    LeICESTRIENSIS. 


Ea7'thzuork  at  Laceby,  Lincolnshire.  279 

Beacon  at  Ranby,  Lincolnshire. 

[1789,  Part  II.,  p.  626.] 

I  send  you  the  dimensions  of  one  of  the  most  perfect  beacons  I 
remember  to  have  seen.     It  is  situated  in  the  parish  of  Ranby,  near 
Market  Stainton,  in  Lincolnshire,  on  the  highest  part  of  the  west  side 
of  the  Wolds,  and  commands  a  prospect  to   Lincoln  of  about    18 
miles.     It  is  of  a  pyramidal  form,  on  a  base  of  100  feet  square  (the 
north  side  of  which  corresponds  exactly  with  the  point  of  the  mag- 
netical  needle),  gradually  diminishing  to  a  square  of  20  feet  at  the 
top.     The  perpendicular  height   is  about   16  feet.     It  is  within  an 
hundred  yards  of  the  road  (by  some  called  "  street,"  an  evidence  of  a 
Roman  way),  from  Barton  to   Horncastle  (the  Banovallum  Roman- 
orum).     On  the  same  road,  in  a  north-west  direction,  are  two  other 
beacons,  which,  being  planted  thick  with  trees,  cannot  be  so  well 
measured,  one  in  the  parish  of  South  Willingham,  the  other  called 
Bully  Hill,  in  the  parish  of  Kirmond.     All  the  three  appear  to  be 
at  convenient  distances  to  repeat  signals,  which  would  be  visible  at  a 
great  distance  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wolds. 

X.  Y.  Z. 

Earthwork  at  Laceby,  Lincolnshire. 

[1S32,  Part  II.,  pp.  407-409.] 

The  honourable  labours  of  our  British  antiquaries  since  the  Re- 
formation have  brought  to  light  many  facts  illustrative  of  the  habits, 
domestic  as  well  as  military,  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this 
island,  and  its  consecutive  invaders,  by  the  examination  of  existing 
monuments  belonging  to  each  particular  period,  from  the  simple 
mound  of  earth  thrown  up  by  the  unsophisticated  Briton,  through  all 
the  gradations  of  systematic  improvement,  to  the  stately  Norman 
castle  erected  with  an  equal  attention  to  durability  and  magnificence. 
But  as,  while  the  mountain  oak  displays  its  giant  form  to  every 
passer-by,  the  humble  lily  of  the  valley  blooms  in  its  native  dell  un- 
seen, so  antiquity,  though  lavish  of  her  unwieldly  treasures  she 
spreads  them  freely  before  her  admirers  for  the  exercise  of  taste  and 
ingenuity,  in  her  seclusion  boasts  of  many  hidden  stores,  which 
remain  concealed  till  accident  or  keen  research  shall  rescue  them 
from  oblivion. 

I  have  been  led  to  these  observations  by  the  discovery  of  an  earth- 
work, which  I  believe  has  been  wholly  unnoticed  by  antiquaries, 
although  situate  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  Roman  road  leading 
from  Louth  to  the  north  of  Lincolnshire,  and  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  village  of  Laceby,  near  Grimsby.  This  road  generally  forms  a 
boundary  to  parishes  ;  and  there  is  little  doubt  but  it  was  used  by  the 
Romans,  although  there  are  some  reasons  for  believing  that  it  existed 
before  the  irruption  of  Csesar,   in  the  form  of  a  British  trackway. 


2  8o  Enca7np7nents,  Earthzvorks,  Etc. 

Along  its  course  is  a  series  of  entrenchments  and  tumuli,  and  Roman 
coins  have  been  found  at  different  periods  upon  or  near  it.  Adjoin- 
ing this  road  is  a  lofty  eminence  called  Welbeck  Hill,  which  has  been 
increased  in  altitude  by  the  erection  of  an  artificial  mound  on  its 
summit ;  and  hence  it  commands  an  extensive  prospect  in  every 
direction.  At  its  foot  is  the  earthwork  or  fortification  I  have  referred 
to.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  broad  and  deep  fosse,  with  high  embank- 
ments on  each  side,  and  constructed  with  the  utmost  regularity,  and 
with  an  accurate  regard  to  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  Its 
form  is  an  oblong  square  of  the  following  dimensions,  with  openings 
or  entrances  north  and  south ;  and  at  every  angle  a  bastion,  as  repre- 
sented in  the  figure.  The  length  within  the  ramparts  is  440  feet ; 
breadth  185  feet,  height  of  the  banks,  13  feet;  breadth  of  the  inner 
bank,  14  feet,  and  of  the  outer,  15  feet;  of  the  ditch,  29  feet ;  and  of 
the  entrances,  north  and  south,  66  feet ;  the  inner  squares  at  the 
angles  about  30  by  25  feet,  on  two  of  which  facing  the  south,  which 
is  the  accessible  quarter  from  Welbeck  Hill,  are  high  mounds.  The 
ditch,  in  the  eastern  division,  is  still  brimful  of  water,  and  from  its 
great  depth  is  impassable  without  a  boat. 

Now  the  question  is,  for  what  purpose  was  it  originally  intended  ? 
The  country  people  have  a  tradition  that  a  gentleman,  many  years 
ago,  threw  up  these  banks  as  the  site  of  a  mansion,  but  proceeded  no 
further  than  the  foundations.  This,  however,  is  altogether  improbable, 
for  it  is  the  most  unlikely  spot  in  nature  to  be  chosen  for  such  an 
edifice.  It  possesses  no  prospect  in  any  direction ;  even  its  proximity 
to  the  Roman  road  would  present  no  view  of  it  to  the  passenger  ;  and 
none  but  a  hermit  or  a  misanthrope  would  condemn  himself  to  the 
utter  seclusion  of  such  a  solitary  abode,  in  the-  vicinity  of  unwhole- 
some swamps  and  quagmires.  Was  it  then  intended  for  a  military 
earthwork?  As  an  exploratory  camp,  it  would  enjoy  the  double  ad- 
vantage of  privacy  and  convenience.  If  a  watch  station  were  estab- 
lished on  the  summit  of  Welbeck  Hill,  the  extensive  prospect  over 
the  whole  country  would  afford  the  sentinel  a  view  of  the  approach  of 
any  hostile  force  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  by  a  timely  notice 
to  all  stragglers  to  retire  into  the  camp,  no  vestiges  would  remain  of 
the  existence  of  an  army  in  this  situation  ;  and  it  might  either  lie 
snug  in  the  encampment,  or  fall  suddenly  on  the  enemy  as  he  passed 
along  the  road,  as  prudence  might  suggest.  In  this  point  of  view  the 
camp  would  be  amply  capable  of  accommodating  about  840  men, 
allowing  the  whole  breadth  of  the  entrance  north  and  south  to  be 
appropriated  as  a  principal  street ;  for  a  single  tent  for  eight  men, 
with  sufficient  space  for  stabling  and  other  conveniences,  would 
occupy  about  300  square  feet ;  />.,  12  by  25.  This  calculation  would 
allow  considerable  room  for  the  officers'  tents,  and  20  feet  all  round 
the  ramparts,  for  the  convenience  of  action,  if  attacked.  It  a'ppears 
to  have  been  a  place  of  uncommon  strength  ;  embosomed  in  a  secret 


Marston   Trussel  Entrenclunent.  281 

valley,  within  a  short  distance  of  which  is  a  narrow  and  deep  ravine 
overhung  with  brushwood  that  runs  through  the  country  to  a  con- 
siderable distance,  and  terminates  in  a  wood  called  Irby  Holme, 
where  are  the  remains  of  what  has  doubtless  been  a  cavern  or  hiding- 
place  in  time  of  danger.  With  this  in  view,  may  not  the  camp  have 
been  used  as  a  place  of  security  for  cattle  and  baggage,  women  and 
children,  sick  and  wounded?  Nothing  could  be  better  contrived  for 
the  combined  purposes  of  security  and  seclusion  from  public  notice 
than  this  retired  spot,  which  is  hid  from  the  view  by  an  amphitheatre 
of  hills,  until  the  visitor  arrives  within  a  few  yards  of  the  place. 

Near  this  entrenchment  is  a  remarkable  spring  called  Welbeck, 
which  is  uniformly  dry  during  the  winter  season ;  but  in  the  month 
of  February  or  March,  a  loud  rumbling  noise  is  heard  in  the  ground 
for  several  successive  days,  and  at  length  the  water  bursts  forth  in  a 
hundred  places,  with  such  incredible  force  as  to  fill  in  a  few  hours 
the  whole  area  of  the  well  or  inclosure  of  earth  where  it  is  situated, 
which  is  a  paralellopiped  of  50  yards  long  by  45  yards  wide,  and 
2  yards  deep ;  and  then  entering  into  a  natural  channel,  it  forms  a 
rapid  stream  during  the  summer,  that  falls  into  the  river  Freshney  ; 
and  their  united  waters  are  emptied  into  the  sea  at  Grimsby.  When 
this  spring  breaks,  several  others  of  smaller  dimensions  in  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood,  which  appear  to  be  subject  to  the  same  laws 
and  influence,  burst  forth  at  the  same  time  ;  and  being  together  ex- 
hausted about  the  month  of  October,  they  cease  and  remain  dry  until 
the  reservoir  beneath  the  surface  is  again  surcharged  by  the  rains  and 
snows  of  winter. 

Geo.  Oliver. 

Marston  Trussel  Entrenchment. 

[1801,  Fart  II.,  p.  689.] 

The  inclosed  (plate  i)  is  a  plan  and  view  of  an  ancient  entrench- 
ment in  the  wood  of  Marston  Trussel  (County  Northampton).  It  is 
situated  on  a  hill,  which  is  at  that  part  very  steep,  and  in  form  much 
resembling  a  large  angular  rampart  or  bastion,  on  the  extreme  point 
of  which  there  is  a  circular  mount  50  yards  in  diameter,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  trench  about  18  feet  deep.  From  this  trench  there  extend 
two  others  of  equal  depth  along  the  side  of  the  hills,  and  in  length 
about  56  yards.  These  are  united  at  their  extremities  by  a  trench  of 
140  yards  long  and  somewhat  curved,  which  gives  the  whole  work 
an  appearance  not  unlike  that  of  a  fan.  Through  this  latter,  or  cross 
trench,  there  appear  to  have  been  two  entrances,  one  near  the  centre, 
and  the  other  near  to  the  south-west  corner.  The  ground  inclosed 
within  these  trenches,  exclusive  of  the  mount,  is  called  the  castle 
yard  ;  and  in  the  north-west  corner  there  is  a  circular  hole  in  the 
ground,'  which  appears  to  have  been  formerly  a  well.  Although  it 
has  generally  been  supposed  to  have  been  a  castle,   there  are  no 


282  Encampments,  Ea7'thworks,  Etc. 

vestiges  of  any  well  or  building  to  confirm  that  opinion  ;  and,  as  a 
camp,  it  is  entirely  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  the  country 
adjacent.  The  hills  on  each  side  are  steep,  and  considerably  higher 
than  the  top  of  the  mount ;  the  ground  also  on  the  south  rises 
gradually  above  the  entrenchment.  Whether  it  served  the  purpose 
of  a  camp,  or  castle,  or  both,  no  situation  can  be  more  secret  and 
retired,  since  it  is  so  completely  environed  with  hills  and  wood,  that 
no  one  can  expect  to  meet  with  a  work  of  the  kind  until  they  arrive 
close  to  it ;  it  must,  however,  on  this  account,  have  been  less  eligible 
for  defence,  and,  from  its  confined  prospect,  very  liable  to  a  surprise; 
but  it  is  most  probable  that  its  warlike  tenants  kept  watch  on  the 
adjoining  hills,  which  command  a  view  at  once  beautiful  and  ex- 
tensive. 

The  wood  takes  its  name  from  Marston,  but  this  military  work  lies 
in  a  small  part  of  it  which  is  in  the  lordship  of  Sibbertoft.  From  the 
former  town  it  is  distant  \\  miles  to  the  south,  and  from  the  latter 
I  mile  to  the  north-east. 

Yours,  etc.         T.  C.   R. 

British  Villages  in  Northumberland. 

[1825,  Part  II.,  p.  420.] 

On  a  fishing  excursion  a  few  years  ago  to  the  river  Brewish,  at  the 
foot  of  Greenshawhill,  the  lowest  of  the  range  of  the  Cheviots  near 
to  Linhope,  in  the  parish  of  Ingram,  Northumberland,  I  discovered 
the  remains  and  foundations  of  circular  houses,  and  two  circles  occa- 
sionally united,  as  mentioned  by  Dion  Cassius,  and  by  Strabo,  in  his 
description  of  "  British  Villages."  It  had  been  defended  on  the  side 
next  to  Greenshawhill  by  two  deep  fosses  and  a  high  rampart,  and 
had  been  so  extensive  that  nearly  two  miles  of  stone  walls  have  been 
built  from  the  ruins,  whilst  many  large  stones  yet  remain  in  the 
foundations,  the  masons  having  found  it  impracticable  to  remove 
them. 

The  village  is  situated  about  5  miles  above  the  Roman  station,  at 
Crawley  Tower,  upon  the  same  river,  which  is  most  probably  the 
"  Alanna  Amnes  "  of  Richard  of  Cirencester,  who  mentions  six  prin- 
cipal towns  belonging  to  the  Mactae  :  viz.,  Bremenium,  Ottadenia, 
Gadenia,  Selgovia,  Novantia,  and  Damnia  :  the  sites  of  only  two  of 
which  have  been  noticed,  viz.,  Rochester  and  Howick,  by  General 
Roy. 

A  third,  I  am  confident,  is  situated  east  of  North  Charlton,  close 
upon  the  north  road,  about  8  miles  north  of  Alnwick,  where,  last 
spring,  in  removing  the  materials  of  a  large  cairn  to  mend  the  turn- 
pike road,  was  found  the  skeleton  of  a  very  large  man  with  a  brass 
spear-head,  inclosed  in  four  stones,  with  a  large  cover.  This  mode 
of  sepulture  took  place  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity. 

J.  Smart. 


Remarks  on  Cole  and  Pen,  in  So7nersetshire.    283 


Remarks  on  Cole  and  Pen,  in  Somersetshire. 

[1786,  Part  I.,  pp.  485,  486.] 

Reading  in  the  last  Monthly  Review  a  critique  on  the  seventh 
volume  of  the  "  Archaiologia,"  I  met  with  Mr.  Barrington's  account  of 
Cole's  pits  in  Berkshire,  with  an  intimation  of  others  of  like  kind  in 
this  county.  Having  on  a  particular  occasion  lately  visited  the  most 
remarkable  pits  of  that  kind  hereabouts,  I  am  induced  to  give  you 
my  observations  thereon,  to  be  inserted,  when  convenient,  in  your 
entertaining  miscellany. 

These  exxavations,  which  are  called  pen-pits,  are  situated  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  south-east  of  the  parish  church  of  Penselwood  in 
this  county,  in  a  common,  or  waste  piece  of  land,  of  about  200  acres, 
the  soil  of  which  seems  uniformly  to  be  a  gravelly  clay ;  its  vegetable 
produce,  a  little  grass,  much  moss,  fern,  furze,  and  a  few  thorns. 
These  pits  are  in  general  of  the  form  which  mathematicians  call  the 
frustum  of  a  cone,  inverted  :  not  of  like  size  one  with  another,  but 
from  10  to  50  feet  over  at  top,  and  from  5  to  20  in  the  bottom,  the 
slant  depth  from  5  to  10  feet;  not  arranged  in  any  regular  order  ; 
though  at  some  places  I  could  perceive  a  chain  of  eight  or  ten,  con- 
nected with  each  other,  the  bank  of  partition  being  of  less  elevation 
than  the  others  around.  The  distance  from  pit  to  pit  is  but  few 
feet. 

To  make  a  calculation  of  the  number  of  these  pits,  I  v/ould  sup- 
pose that  each,  on  an  average,  contained  20  square  feet  of  land  ; 
from  whence  it  would  be  found  that  this  common  contained  not  less 
than  22,000.  Besides  which,  are  many  others  in  the  adjoining  lands; 
in  the  whole,  I  dare  venture  to  suppose,  a  hundred  times  as  many  as 
at  Coxwell. 

Whether  these  spots  (Cole  and  Pen)  were  cities,  or  were  encamp- 
ments for  soldiery  in  former  wars,  I  must  leave  to  the  determination 
of  Mr.  Barrington  and  others  ;  but,  if  they  were  the  former,  Cole  cuts 
a  diminutive  figure  when  compared  with  Pen. 

I  would  remark  to  you  that  on  an  eminence,  about  a  mile  north  of 
these  pits,  is  the  spot  where  the  brave  Alfred  gained  the  glorious  and 
final  victory  over  his  enemies  the  Danes.  To  notice  a  little  the 
history  of  those  times,  we  find  that  Alfred  was  overcome  in  battle  at 
Chippenham,  in  Wilts,  and  that  he  took  refuge  in  an  obscure  part  of 
Somersetshire,  accessible  only  in  the  summer  months,  about  thirty 
miles  west  of  Penselwood,  and  that  the  Danes  pitched  their  camp  not 
far  from  these  pits.  Now,  if  I  may  venture  to  hazard  an  opinion  on 
a  subject  so  much  involved  in  the  darkness  of  antiquity,  it  would  be 
that  these  excavations  were  the  work  of  Danish  soldiers,  at  the  period 
mentioned,  for  their  common  encampment ;  and  that  the  grand 
camp  for  their  chiefs  and  officers  was  on  the  eminence  above  men- 
tioned, perhaps  of  different  construction.     A  supposition  also  is  not 


284  Encampmeiits,  EartJiwo7^ks,  Etc. 

void  of  probability,  that  Alfred  approached  the  upper  camp  from  the 
forest  of  Selwood  on  the  north,  and  took  it  by  surprise  ;  after  which 
the  conquest  of  the  soldiery  themselves  was  less  difficult.  Alfred's 
visit  to  these  parts  gave  him  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  most  vulner- 
able part  of  the  enemy ;  and  surely  without  a  knowledge  of  some 
favourable  part  to  attack,  he  never  would  have  hazarded  the  lives  of 
the  few  faithful  subjects  he  had  collected  against  an  enemy  so  numer- 
ous as  this  seems  to  have  been.     [See  Note  22.] 

Yours,  etc.         A.  Crocker. 


Ancient  Entrenchment  in  Yorkshire. 

[1789,  Part  II.,  p.  688.] 

In  a  farm,  part  of  the  estate  of  Henry  Buncombe,  Esq.,  and  near 
his  seat  at  Copgrove,  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  are  the 
remains  of  an  ancient  entrenchment,  which  may  be  traced  near  half 
a  mile  in  length,  consisting  of  one  line,  forming  several  angles. 
About  300  yards  south  of  this  line  is  another  entrenchment,  enclosing 
an  area  66  feet  square,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  small  elevation. 

In  ploughing  the  ground  near  these  works,  very  lately,  was  found 
a  small  piece  of  brass,  the  size  of  the  drawing  (plate  iii.,  fig.  4),  and 
about  the  thickness  of  a  crown-piece.  Could  we  ascertain  to  whom  this 
bearing  properly  belonged,  perhaps  it  would  throw  a  light  on  the  history 
of  these  entrenchments,  with  regard  to  which  even  tradition  is  silent. 

Fig.  5  is  the  head  of  the  bolt  of  a  catapulta.  It  is  of  brass,  5  inches 
long,  and  if  inches  broad  at  the  edge,  and  weighs  8  ounces.  This 
curious  fragment  of  an  ancient  weapon,  now  in  the  possession  of 
Dr.  Hutchinson,  of  Knaresborough,  was  found  on  turning  up  the 
soil  in  the  year  1788,  in  a  field  about  400  yards  below  the  old  spa  at 
High  Harrowgate. 

Yours,  etc.         E.  H.  R. 

On  the  Laws  or  Duns  of  Scotland. 

[1832,  Part  II.,  pp.  221-223.] 

Little  mounts,  or  conical-shaped  hills,  so  frequently  seen  in  Scot- 
land, and  most  commonly  found  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  ancient 
castles  and  churches,  are  objects  of  curiosity  as  connected  with 
ancient  manners. 

They  are  generally  termed  "  laws,"  and  sometimes  "  duns,"  and 
were  the  "  Moot  "  or  "  Dom-hills  "  of  former  ages,  where  justice  was 
administered  and  the  laws  enforced.  Here  all  matters  of  right  and 
equity  were  determined ;  courts  of  justice  being  held  in  the  open  air, 
even  until  late  times.  In  the  Isle  of  Man,  the  Parliament,  or  Folk- 
mote,  is  still  held  on  the  Tynewald ;  and  about  four  miles  from  Tavi- 
stock is  a  hill  called  Croken-Tor,  where  the  courts  of  Stannary  are 


On  the  Laws  or  Duns  of  Scotland.  285 

obliged  by  charter  to  assemble,  although  the  steward  generally 
adjourns  the  meeting  to  the  neighbouring  town. 

The  term  "  law  "  is  the  Gothic  "  hleau,"  lex,  the  Icelandic  and 
Norwegian  "laga."  "  Moidh,"  "moot,"  and  "mote,"  in  the  Gaelic, 
Saxon,  and  Swedish  languages,  signify  a  place  of  meeting,  a  court ; 
and  hence  the  Irish  "mota,"a  mount.*  "Dun  "is  a  Gaelic  word, 
and  implies  an  artificial  hill  or  fortress. 

These  mounts  are  common  in  almost  every  district  in  Scotland. 
In  Dumfriesshire  they  abound,  and  perhaps  many  tumuli  now  sup- 
posed to  be  sepulchral,  have  been  originally  court-hills.  Although 
most  commonly  artificial,  natural  eminences  were  also  sometimes 
chosen  for  holding  the  moot.  Of  this  description  are  the  laws  of 
Dunse,  North  Berwick,  Cockburn  Law,  etc. 

The  mote  of  Urr,  evidently  artificial,  in  the  county  of  Kirkcud- 
bright, about  half  a  mile  from  the  parish  church,  is  an  imposing 
example  of  one  of  those  hills ;  but  the  most  noted  is  that  of  Scone, 
situated  about  70  yards  north  of  the  palace.  The  first  mention  of 
this  hill  is  in  the  reign  of  Kenneth  the  Second,  who  from  thence  is 
said  to  have  promulgated  the  celebrated  Mac  Alpin  Laws,  about  850. 
In  909  a  council  was  held  here  by  King  Constantine  and  Bishop 
Kellach,  who,  with  those  then  present,  solemnly  vowed  to  observe 
the  laws  and  discipline  of  faith,  the  rights  of  the  churches,  and  of 
the  Gospel.  From  this  circumstance  the  mount  was  called  "  CoUis 
credulitatis."t 

Skene,  in  his  "  Regiam  Majestatum,"  tells  us  how  Malcolm  the 
Second,  seated  in  the  famous  chair,  placed  on  this  mount,  bestowed 
lands  on  his  followers.  Robert  the  Second,  also,  the  day  after  his 
coronation,  sat  "super  montem  de  Scone. "| 

On  the  west  side  of  the  cathedral  of  Old  Aberdeen,  is  a  hill  called 
Tillidron,  which  appears  to  imply  in  Gaelic  "  the  hill  of  right. "§ 
William  Orem,  in  his  "  Description  of  the  Chanonry  of  Aberdeen/' 
written  about  1725,  informs  us  that  this  mount  was  also  known  by 
the  name  of  Don-i-don,  or  rather  Dun-a-don,  which  in  the  same 
language  signifies  "  the  Dun  of  the  Don,"  on  the  bank  of  which 
river  it  is  situated. 

These  were  popular  appellations,  probably  imposed  at  a  very  early 
period ;  for,  after  the  establishment  of  the  bishopric,  it  became  the 

*  Lhuyd's  «'ArchKO.  Brit." 

+  "  Leges  disciplinasque  fidei,  atque  jura  ecclesiaruin,  evangeliorumque,  pariter 
cum  Scottis  in  coUe  credulitatis,  prope  regalem  civitatem  Scoan  devoverunt 
custodiri.  Ab  hoc  die  collis  hoc  nomen  meruit,  i.e.  Collis  credulitatis." — "Chron. 
Pict.  ap.  Innes,"  and  Pinkerton's  "Intro."  ii.  i8i. 

\  Fordun,  and  MS.  in  Paper  Office,  quoted  by  Pinkerton  in  "Hist,  of  the 
Steuarts." 

§  Lhuyd's  "Archceo.  Brit."  Dronain,  a  throne j  Drong,  a  company;  Dronadh, 
direction  ;  Dronan,  the  back. 


2  86  Eiicamp77ients,  Ea7^thworks,  Etc. 

moot-hill   of  the   diocese,  and  was  dedicated   to   St.  Thomas   the 
Martyr. 

In  1382  Adam  de  Tyningham,  who  was  then  bishop,  held  his  court 
"super  montem  S'.  Thomae  martiris,  juxta  Canoniam  de  Aberdon."* 
A  canon  of  the  Scottish  Church  having  prohibited  the  holding  of 
courts  in  churches,  they  were  transferred  to  adjoining  eminences, 
natural  or  artificial. t 

There  is  a  tradition  that  it  was  frequently  enjoined  on  those  who 
had  subjected  themselves  to  ecclesiastical  censure,  as  a  penance,  to 
carry  a  certain  quantity  of  earth  to  these  hills.  It  was  equally 
necessary  to  take  means  for  the  preservation  of  the  moothill  of 
antiquity,  as  it  is  to  keep  in  repair  modern  courts  of  justice,  and  this 
seems  to  have  been  a  becoming  plan.  Hume,  in  his  "  History  of 
the  Douglasses,"  says  that  on  the  coronation  of  Robert  the  First, 
in  1306,  the  Barons  demonstrated  their  fealty,  and  did  homage,  by 
casting  on  the  hill  of  Scone  a  quantity  of  earth  from  their  lands,  from 
which  circumstance  it  obtained  the  appellation  of  "  Omnisterra." 

In  1511  King  James  the  Fourth  confirmed  a  charter  to  John 
Stewart,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Lennox,  of  the  lands  and  barony  of  Tar- 
bolton,  and  ordained  the  hall  situated  upon  the  court  hill  to  be  the 
"principal  messuage  thereof,  where  the  seasing  shall  be  taken." — 
(Harl.  MS.  4134.) 

The  hills  of  Dunipace,  near  the  river  Carron,  in  Stirlingshire,  are 
very  remarkable,  and  the  name  is  sufficiently  indicative  of  the  use  to 
which  they  have  been  appropriated,  whether  we  suppose  it,  with  Sir 
J.  Foulis,  in  the  "Transactions  of  S.  A  Sc,"  Dun-na-bas,  "the  hill 
of  death  or  judgment ;"  or  compounded  of  the  Gaelic  "  dun  "  and 
Latin  "pacis,"  a  conjunction  not  unfrequently  to  be  met  with.f 

Adjoining  the  churchyards  of  Kintore  and  Inverurie,  both  in  Aber- 
deenshire, are  similar  artificial  elevations.  The  latter  is  denominated 
the  Bass,  a  word  of  similar  import  with  the  name  of  Dunipace. 

The  right  of  holding  moot  courts  was  not  dependant  on  actual 
possession ;  for,  although  the  lands  might  be  alienated,  the  original 
proprietor  retained  the  right  of  assembling  his  vassals,  and  exercising 
his  prerogative  as  chief  of  the  clan,  on  the  Law-hill  of  the  domain. 

When  Malcolm  the  Second  granted  lands  to  his  followers,  as  above- 
mentioned,  it  is  added  that  he  reserved  to  himself  the  royal  dignity, 
and  the  "  Moot-hill "  of  Scone,  from  which  it  would  appear,  as  Pen- 
nant observes,  that  its  possession  affected  the  dignity  of  the  Crown, 
which  tenaciously  retained  the  right  of  presiding  on  the  hill  of  assem- 
blage.     In  a  charter  of   David  Earl  of  Strathern  and   Caithness, 

*  *' Chartulary  of  Aberdeen  ap.  Caled."  i.  737. 

7  "  The  Scottish  Gael,"  vol.  ii.,  c.  vii, 

J  This  originated  with  the  monkish  writers,  who  often  Latinised  names  in  an 
arbitrary  and  whimsical  manner,  as  may  be  seen  in  ancient  documents.  In  an 
account  of  the  progress  of  King  Edward  the  First,  published  in  "  Rot.  Scotise," 
they  are  spelt  "  Donypas." 


On  the  Laws  or  Duns  of  Scotland.  287 

granted  in  1380,  and  quoted  in  Chalmers's  "  Caledonia,"  i.  737,  is 
this  reservation  :  "  Salvis  nobis  et  heredibus  nostris  Cathedra  co?nitis, 
et  loco  domus  capitalis  dicte  terre  de  Fyndon." 

Sometimes  these  hills  are  distinguished  by  "Ward,"  which  is  generally 
prefixed,  as  Ward-hill.  This  word  is  most  probably  the  Saxon  wyrth, 
"fatum,  fortuna,"*  a  term  very  applicable  to  a  place  where  laws  were 
enacted,  and  sentences  promulgated.  The  Slogan  of  the  Maxwells 
was,  "  I  bid  ye  bide  Wardlaw."t 

Circles  are  almost  exclusively  referred  to  Druidical  uses,  but  they 
were  also  devoted  to  other  purposes,  one  of  which  was  similar  to  the 
design  of  the  Laws.  In  1380  Alexander  Steuart,  Lord  of  Badenoch, 
held  a  court  of  regality  "  apud  le  statida?id  stanes  de  la  Rath  de 
Kingusie."J  The  Raich  is  still  known,  but  the  stones  are  gone.  In 
Icelandic  those  monuments  are  called  Domhring,  circles  of  justice  ; 
and  Domthing,  courts  of  judgment. 

Elevated  situations  seem  to  present  the  most  eligible  places  for  the 
transaction  of  solemn  and  important  affairs.  The  Court  of  Areopagus, 
the  sovereign  tribunal  of  the  Greeks,  to  whose  solemn  decrees  the 
gods  themselves  were  deemed  subject,  was  held  on  an  open  eminence 
in  the  City  of  Athens. 

"  Mountains  are  altars  rais'd  to  God,  by  hands 
Omnipotent,  and  man  must  worship  there  ; 
On  their  aspiring  summits  glad  he  stands, 
And  near  to  heaven." 

Hills  have  been  always  venerated  by  primitive  nations,  who  have 
viewed  them  as  the  peculiar  habitation  of  Gods,  Genii,  and  Spirits. 
In  Scotland  the  fairies  dwelt  under  the  little  green  hills  ;  and  long 
after  the  Baron  had  ceased  to  legislate  from  the  summit,  those  airy 
inhabitants  of  the  interior  continued  to  influence  the  minds  of  the 
people.  The  practice  may  be  discontinued,  but  it  is  still  well  re- 
membered, that  when  any  of  the  Laird's  tenants  were  contentious,  he 
appointed  them  to  meet  him  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  where  he  settled 
the  dispute. 

On  such  hills  was  generally  a  remarkable  stone,  beside  which  the 
conference  was  held,  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  the 
obelisks  often  seen  near  churches  were  sometimes  intended  for  civil, 
as  well  as  religious  purposes. 

Stones  have  been  appropriated  to  religious  and  juridical  purposes 
by  most  primitive  nations,  but  it  would  be  digressing  from  the  object 
of  this  essay  to  enter  more  into  the  subject. 

Such  customs  are  now  disused ;  but  old  men  in  Scotland  will  yet 
tell  how  they  formerly  lent  and  repaid  money,  concluded  bargains, 

*  Lye's  "Diet.  Sax." 

t  Quaere — implying  a  severity  of  revenge? 

\  "Chart.  Abcrdon.  ap.  Caled."  ut  sup. 


2  88  Encampments^  Earthworks,  Etc. 

etc.,  beside  certain  noted  stones,  silent  witnesses  of  the  good  faith  or 
dishonour  of  the  parties. 

The  word  "  Doom  "  is  not  yet  obsolete — it  still  signifies  fate  or  judg- 
ment ;  and  giving  sentence  in  Scots  law  was  formerly  called  "  passing 
the  doeme,"  the  Judge  was  denominated  the  Doomster  or  Dempster, 
and  the  jury  the  Doomsmen.*  In  the  Isle  of  Man  the  Judges  are 
still  called  the  Deemsters,     [See  Note  23.] 

Yours,  etc.         James  Logan. 

Gallery  of  Stones  in  Forfarshire. 

[1S40,  Part  II.,  pp.  79,  80.] 

I  send  you  a  sketch  of  a  curious  building  found  underground  on 
the  property  of  Mr.  Murray,  of  Lintrose,  in  the  parish  of  Kettins, 
near  Cupar  Angus,  in  the  County  of  Forfar. 

From  B  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  there  is  a  slope  of  about  3 
feet  to  C,  the  entrance  to  the  building,  having  rude  stone  posts.  The 
floor  still  slopes  to  D  about  3  feet  more,  from  which  point  to  A  it  is 
level ;  it  is  paved  with  large  rude  stones,  and  the  distance  from  A  to 
B  is  about  17  yards.  At  E  a  fire  place,  where  charcoal  was  found, 
with  three  rude  stones  by  way  of  fender.  A,  a  small  square  hole  in 
the  end  wall,  apparently  the  mouth  of  a  drain.  The  walls  are  built 
of  large  unhewn  stones  ;  are  about  3  or  4  feet  in  perpendicular  height, 
above  which  an  arch  springs  as  at  figure  F,  which  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  completed  as  in  G.  The  building  is  at  the  top  of  a 
gently  rising  ground  in  a  field  where  a  man  was  ploughing,  and  was 
discovered  by  his  plough  striking  against  a  large  stone,  which  proved 
to  be  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  walls.  It  was  completely  filled  up 
with  a  black  loamy  soil,  different  from  that  in  the  surrounding  field. 
A  few  pieces  of  decayed  bones  were  found,  but  they  were  so  small  as 
to  be  insufficient  to  indicate  what  bones  they  were.  Nothing  else  was 
discovered  in  the  excavated  soil.  There  are  the  remains  of  several 
Roman  stations  in  the  neighbourhood,  particularly  at  Campmoor, 
within  the  distance  of  half  a  mile.  A.  T. 

Diggings  into  Ancient  Britain. 

[1862,  Part  II.,  p.  695.] 

Consecutive  explorations  of  an  unusual  character  have  been  made 
during  the  summers  of  the  last  and  present  years  in  the  Cheviot  dis- 
trict. On  these  lofty  hills,  which  are  sealed  for  so  many  months  of 
the  year  with  snow,  a  veritable  tract  of  ancient  Britain  has  been  laid 
bare  :  a  walled  town,  several  fortlets,  scattered  hut-circles  and  tumuli 
have  been  disencumbered  of  the  earth  that  has  been  accumulating 
over  them  for  nearly  two  thousand  years ;  and  many  interesting  facts 

*  See  a  curious  tract  entitled  "Manner  of  holding  Justice  Courts  in  Scotland." 
Cott.  MS.  Calig.  B.  viii.  212;  also  Galba,  E.  ix. 


Alounds  of  Earth  near  Pontneddfychan.        289 

have  been  thus  disclosed  respecting  the  Celtic  tribes  whom  Csesar 
found  in  possession  of  the  land.  It  would  appear  that  the  Cheviot 
hills  were  well  populated  in  those  remote  times.  Huge  circles  of 
masonry  overgrown  with  herbage  are  seen  on  most  of  them,  sometimes 
on  the  slopes,  sometimes  on  the  summits,  and  within  many  of  these 
there  are  smaller  circles  of  turf-covered  stones  marking  sites  of  huts. 
In  all  these  ramparts  and  dwellings  blocks  of  the  porphyry  of  the  dis- 
trict have  been  used  as  the  sole  building  material. 

On  the  southern  slope  of  a  hill,  locally  distinguished  as  Greenlaw, 
great  masses  of  ruin  promised  a  rich  reward  to  the  spade  of  the  ex- 
cavator. Here  three  walled  enclosures,  connected  with  one  another 
by  a  roadway,  have  been  brought  to  light.  Within  these  enclosures 
traces  of  as  many  as  seventy  stone  huts  can  be  counted.  Most  of 
the  entrances  into  these  face  the  east,  and  the  floors  of  those  that 
have  been  dug  into  are  found  to  have  been  rudely  flagged  with  flat 
stones.  The  largest  of  the  enclosures  has  been  strengthened  with  two 
ramparts  :  against  the  inner  of  these  walls  is  a  hut  which  has  a  flue 
— the  earliest  evidence  of  the  use  of  chimneys  we  possess.  In  several 
of  the  huts  charred  wood  was  found  in  the  floors,  as  well  as  broken 
pottery  ;  in  one  a  glass  bead,  in  another  a  stone  seat,  in  others  a  frag- 
ment of  a  glass  armlet,  part  of  the  horn  of  the  red  deer,  and  three 
bottom  stones  of  hand-mills.  The  Celtic  remains  on  Broughlow, 
Chesters,  and  Ingram  Hill  have  also  been  examined.  The  most 
recent  diggings  have  been  made  on  Yeavering  Bell,  of  which  we  have 
already  printed  a  detailed  account.* 

Mounds  of  Earth  near  Pontneddfychan. 

[iSoi,  Part  II.,  p.  985.] 

The  banks  of  the  Neath  River,  above  the  village  of  Pontneddfychan 
(usually  spelt  Pontneathvaughan),  near  Neath,  in  Glamorganshire, 
for  near  a  mile  in  length,  and  about  half  a  one  in  width,  on  each  side, 
contain  a  great  number  of  mounds  of  earth  and  stones,  of  about  2  or 
3  yards  long,  i  wide,  and  i  high ;  and  some  few  of  about  4  or  5 
yards  long,  i  or  2  wide,  and  i  high.  They  all  appear  of  great 
antiquity.  They  lie  pretty  nearly  in  straight  lines  up  the  ascents  of 
the  ground,  with  their  sides  opposite  thereto  and  to  each  other 
(Plate  II.).  Their  distances  from  each  other  are  various ;  in  some 
cases  only  3  or  4,  and  in  others  more  than  20  yards.  Their  numbers 
on  each  side  of  the  river  must  have  been  several  hundreds  ;  but  of 
late  years  they  have  been  greatly  diminished  by  levelling  them  for  the 
purpose  of  facilitating  the  ploughing  of  the  lands.  These  mounds 
are  evidently  artificial,  an  excavation  on  the  upper  side  of  each,  from 
whence  the  matter  was  got  to  form  them,  is  still  visible.  It  is  not 
likely  that  they  have  been  the  effect  of  quarrying,  or  even  trying  for 

*  Gentle  mails  Magazine,  September,  1862,  p.  454.     [See  ante,  p.  264.] 
VOL.    V.  19 


290  Encampments,  EmHhworks,  Etc. 

stones,  because  they  are  situated  in  the  most  earthy  parts,  and  in  the 
midst  of  grounds  whose  surface  is  in  many  places  almost  covered  with 
stones  that  are  detached  from  the  rocks,  and,  in  course,  might  have 
been  removed  at  a  less  expense,  and  with  greater  facility,  than  in  the 
opening  of  new  quarries.  Several  stones  are  also  contained  in  the 
mounds  themselves,  which  would  not  have  been  the  case  if  quarrying 
had  been  their  only  object.  It  is  not  probable  that  they  have  been 
the  effect  of  any  mining  adventure,  because  the  rock  itself  is  not  a 
mineral  measure.* 

The  Neath  River,  on  which  they  are  situated,  here  divides  Gla- 
morganshire and  Brecknockshire,  the  banks  of  which  are  nearly  per- 
pendicular, and  from  2  to  300  feet  high.  Just  below  the  village  of 
Pontneathvaughan  the  Neath  and  Felddta  (usually  spelt  Velthta) 
Rivers  unite  ;  and  there  Cwmm  Nedd  (Neath  Valley)  is  not  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  the  lands  on  each  side  rising  by  degrees 
until  they  terminate  in  lofty  mountains.  A  large  stone,  of  a  rude 
oblong- square  form,  8  feet  long  and  about  2\  feet  square,  lies  upon 
the  ground  near  to  the  mounds  on  the  Glamorganshire  side,  and  may 
at  some  time  probably  have  been  erect.  The  Glamorganshire  side  of 
the  Neath  River  belongs  to  Lord  Vernon  ;  and  the  Brecknockshire 
side  to  Walter  Jeffreys,  Esq.,  of  Brecknock. 

To  the  north  of  these  mounds,  at  about  three  miles'  distance,  there 
is  a  Roman  causeway,  called  in  Welsh  "  Sarn  Helen,"  or  Helen's 
Pavement,  on  which  there  are  the  remains  of  a  station,  and  to  the 
north-east,  at  Ystradfelddta,  about  four  miles'  distance,  there  are  the 
remains  of  another  Roman  station  ;  and,  about  a  mile  farther,  a 
third. 

Are  these  mounds  (for  it  is  evident  they  have  been  erected  for 
defence),  therefore,  Roman  or  British  ?  Probably  some  of  your  cor- 
respondentSj  versed  in  ancient  history,  will  be  able  to  trace  out  by 
whom  they  were  erected. 

In  the  road  to  Merthyr  Tidfil,  at  about  a  mile  from  these  mounds, 
there  is  a  bridge  called  in  Welsh  "  Pont  Dinas,"  or  City  Bridge.  I 
am  informed  that  the  ancient  Britons  generally  called  their  encamp- 
ments Dinas  or  Caer,  both  of  which  words  signify  a  city.  This  serves 
in  some  measure  to  confirm  the  idea  of  the  mounds  having  been  a 
military  station  ;  and  Pont  Dinas  may  have  derived  its  name  from 
having  been  erected  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  a  communication 
between  the  encampment  and  Monmouthshire,  as  well  as  the  south- 
east parts  of  Glamorganshire,  that  bridge  being  the  only  passage  from 
those  parts  over  the  river  above  Neath. 

Gilbert  Gilpin. 

*  The  miner's  term  for  all  matter  under  which  minerals  are  usually  found. 


Remains  of  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Ireland.   291 


Llanbadarn  Fawr,  in  Cardiganshire. 

[1791,  Part  I.,  p.  116.] 

There  are  several  old  British  camps  or  forts  in  this  parish.  Peny 
Dinas,  near  Aberystwyth,  a  very  large  entrenchment ;  Y  Gaer,  near 
Cwmbwa,  Pen  y  Darren  ;  a  fort  near  Bwa  Drain  ;  and  Llys  Arthur, 
in  Dyffryn  Castell ;  Llys  Arthur  signifies  Arthur's  palace,  and  hath 
only  a  single  ditch,  and  is  on  a  plain  surrounded  with  high  mountains. 
They  have  several  stories  in  this  neighbourhood  about  Arthur's  re- 
siding here.  The  four  first  being  great  ditches  thrown  up  on  the 
tops  of  hills.  Two  earns  on  the  top  of  Plymlymmon  mountain  which 
are  very  large  heaps  of  loose  stones.  Some  earns  in  Trefeirig,  said 
to  be  burying-places.  The  above  forts  are  said  to  be  the  Caers  or 
camps  of  the  ancient  Britons ;  and  the  two  earns  on  the  top  of  Plym- 
lymmon mountain  might  possibly  be  formerly  used  as  beacons,  to 
give  notice  of  an  approaching  enemy  by  burning  fire  on  the  tops  of 
these  earns,  which  might  be  seen  from  nine  or  ten  counties. 

The  blade  of  a  British  spear  or  pike,  called  ffonwayw,  was  found 
about  five  years  ago,  in  a  bog  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  of  Plymlym- 
mon; it  is  two-edged,  and  about  10  inches  long,  having  been  nailed  in 
a  slit  in  the  end  of  a  wooden  handle  ;  it  is  of  yellow  brass  of  the  form 
here  described  (Plate  I.,  fig.  6) ;  and  the  nails  are  of  brass.  It  is  in 
my  custody.  William  Owen. 

Remains  of  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Ireland. 

[1865,  Part  /.,  pp.  707-710.] 

In  the  summer  of  1864,  Colonel  A.  Lane  Fox,  F.S.A.,  and  Richard 
Caulfield,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  made  an  investigation  of  some  remains  of  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Ireland  still  existing  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Cork  \  and  on  March  9  of  the  present  year,  the  latter  gentleman 
gave  some  account  of  their  researches,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Bandon 
Young  Men's  Society  (the  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of  Bandon  in  the 
chair).  As  the  subject  is  a  new  one,  and  may  prove  to  be  the  open- 
ing of  a  promising  field  of  investigation,  we  present  an  outline  of  the 
lecture : 

"  If,"  said  Mr.  Caulfield,  "  I  were  asked  what  were  the  most  ancient 
remains  now  existing  in  Ireland,  I  would  certainly  point  out  those 
earthworks  which  are  so  thickly  scattered  through  some  parts  of  the 
country,  and  known  among  the  peasants  by  the  name  of  Forts  or 
Raths  ;  many  of  these  curious  remains  are  now  fast  disappearing 
before  the  progress  of  railways,  others  have  been  sacrificed  by  the 
industrious  and  improving  agriculturist.  The  supernatural  agency 
which  was  supposed  to  lurk  about  them,  and  which  for  ages,  like  a 
guardian  angel,  preserved  them,  is  fast  losing  its  influence.  And  may 
I  be  permitted  here  to  lift  up  my  voice  on  their  behalf,  and  request 

19 — 2 


292  Encampments,  Eartkzuorks,  Etc. 

of  those  gentlemen  on  whose  property  they  may  exist,  that  when  not 
absolutely  necessary  for  some  great  and  permanent  benefit,  the  hand 
of  man  will  spare  those  and  other  landmarks  of  ages  perhaps  for  ever 
lost  in  the  night  of  time  ?  Last  summer,  in  company  with  Col.  Lane 
Fox,  F.S.A.,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  many  of  these 
remains,  and  after  considerable  difficulty  in  some  instances,  we  got 
into  the  crypts  and  made  accurate  measurements  and  drawings  of 
the  subterranean  chambers ;  from  these  investigations  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  are,  or  where  the  earth  has  fallen  in,  were, 
crypts  in  all  of  them.  The  entrance  into  some  was  about  the  centre, 
into  others  from  outside  of  the  circumvallation,  of  which  there  are 
frequently  two,  and  sometimes  the  remains  of  a  third.  They  are 
mostly  round,  but  occasionally  one  of  square  form  is  to  be  met  with. 
A  rath  has  been  defined  to  be  '  an  ancient  fortress  of  the  Irish  chiefs,' 
and  is  a  very  interesting  specimen  of  certain  Celtic  modes  of  living. 
The  rath,  like  the  British  oppidiim  described  by  Caesar,  was  a  large 
circular  enclosure  on  elevated  ground,  and  not  unfrequently  in  the 
bosom  of  woods. 

"  About  the  beginning  of  May,  having  got  permission  from  Horace 
Townsend,  Esq.,  we  turned  our  attention  to  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing and  perfect  forts  in  this  part  of  the  county.  About  three  miles 
north  of  Blarney  is  a  fort  called  Lis-na-ratha ;  it  is  95  paces*  in 
diameter  between  the  foot  of  the  interior  slope,  and  21  feet  from 
the  crest  of  the  parapet  to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch.  The  ditch  was 
34  feet  wide,  and  the  crest  of  the  parapet  is  1 1  feet  high  above  the 
level  of  the  interior.  It  has  two  openings,  one  to  the  south,  the 
other  to  the  north-east;  it  commands  the  country  round  it,  and 
especially  to  the  south  and  west.  For  two  days  we  employed  a  strong 
labourer  in  making  soundings  by  picking  the  ground  with  a  long  bar 
to  the  depth  of  4  or  6  feet,  but  were  rather  unsuccessful,  our  labours 
being  only  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  a  small  earthen  chamber  2 
feet  10  inches  below  the  surface,  and  the  bottom  of  it  5  feet  9  inches, 
in  which  spot  an  iron  clinker  was  found.  The  chamber  appeared  to 
be  2  feet  wide  at  the  part  where  it  formed  an  arch.  Among  the  debris 
was  a  quantity  of  charcoal  and  small  fragments  of  bones,  which  had 
evidently  been  broken  up.  Mr.  Galton  tells  us  that  some  of  the 
tribes  of  Africa,  not  content  with  the  flesh  of  the  animals  which  they 
kill,  pound  up  also  the  bones  in  mortars,  and  then  suck  out  the 
animal  juices  contained  in  them  ;  so  also,  according  to  Leems,  the 
Danish  Laplanders  used  to  break  up  with  a  mallet  all  the  bones 
which  contained  any  fat  or  marrow,  and  then  boil  them  until  all  the 

*  A  pace  is  2  feet  6  inches.  Cashel  fort,  near  Inisliannon,  county  Cork,  is  perhaps 
the  largest  in  Ireland  ;  it  is  of  oval  form  and  in  two  lines,  the  outer  being  900  feet 
by  1,140  feet;  the  inner  line  is  at  a  distance  of  150  feet  from  the  outer,  which  is 
quite  exceptional.  Tliis  fort  is  on  the  crest  of  a  high  hill,  and  commands  the 
country  for  miles  around. 


Remains  of  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Ireland.   29 


fat  was  abstracted.     A  similar  custom  would  seem  to  have  prevailed 
here. 

"  Before  quitting  the  locality  I  must  not  forget  to  notice  the  remains 
of  what  has  all  the  appearance  of  having  been  once  what  is  called  a 
Druidical  circle.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  fort  are  two 
large  stones  called  Dallauns,  erect  in  a  field  ;  one  was  9,  the  other  11 
feet  high,  and  9  feet  9  inches  apart.  We  dug  to  a  depth  of  about 
6  feet  between  these  stones,  but  found  no  animal  remains.  On  ex- 
amining the  immediate  locality  we  found  twelve  others,  some  much 
larger,  lying  on  the  ground,  partly  buried  in  the  boggy  soil  of  the 
place ;  here  were  also  two  tumuli  rising  from  the  ground,  2  r  paces 
apart.  These  were  excavated  to  the  depth  of  6  feet.  The  entire 
substrata  was  composed  of  burned  stones  and  pieces  of  charcoal. 
These  tumuli  are  common  to  all  nations.  Jn  the  annual  report 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  (Washington,  1857),  M.  Guest,  in  an 
interesting  article  on  '  Ancient  Indian  Remains,'  says,  '  On  opening 
the  tumuli  they  were  found  to  be  composed  of  earth,  charcoal,  ashes, 
and  contained  human  bones,  horns  and  skulls  of  the  deer,  bones  of 
the  beaver,'  etc.  The  mode  of  cooking  adopted  by  those  rude 
people,  and  which  appears  common  to  all  nations  in  their  infancy, 
was  by  heating  a  quantity  of  stones,  and  placing  them  upon  the  flesh 
or  fish  till  half  baked,  and  which  they  subsisted  on. 

"  We  next  proceeded  to  the  lands  of  Garraune,  in  the  parish  of 
Donoughmore,  the  estate  of  Jonas  Stawell,  Esq.,  who  kindly  per- 
mitted us  to  make  any  researches  in  the  forts  on  his  lands.  The  first 
fort  we  examined  was  called  by  the  country  people  Luchlanic,  or 
Luhulig ;  they  say  that  this  word  in  the  old  Irish  tongue  signifies 
'  the  Danes,'  giving  some  colour  to  the  popular  but  erroneous  impres- 
sion that  these  earthworks  were  raised  by  that  people  ;  measured  as 
Lis-na-ratha,  Luchlanic  is  57  paces  in  diameter,  the  ditch  is  36  feet 
wide,  and  an  outer  parapet  without  a  ditch  15  feet  wide.  We  found 
no  crypt  in  Luchlanic.  Quite  adjacent  to  it  is  a  small  fort  called  Lis- 
Dubh,  or  the  Black  Fort.  It  was  so  thickly  covered  over  with  brush- 
wood, that  it  defied  our  picks  and  spades.  At  a  distance  it  looked 
like  a  dark  spot  in  the  beautifully  rich  and  verdant  fields  that  sur- 
rounded it.  We  next  visited  Lis-Ard,  or  the  High  Fort.  This  rath 
stands  up  boldly  from  the  ground,  and  is  a  conspicuous  object  all 
round  that  part  of  the  country.  It  is  23  paces  in  diameter,  interior 
slope  15  feet,  exterior  slope  24  feet  measured  along  the  slopes,  which 
are  at  an  angle  of  about  45°.  Another  fort,  called  Jack  Dick's  Fort, 
is  near  Mr.  Stawell's  farm.  It  is  51  paces  in  diameter.  A  very  mas- 
sive pillar-stone  with  an  Ogham  inscription  stands  just  outside  the  gap 
on  the  north  side.  Further  on  is  Lis-Anisky,  or  the  Water  Fort ;  it  is 
surrounded  with  a  deep  moat  full  of  water.  This  fort  has  been 
thickly  planted,  which  has  a  pleasing  effect.  A  brook  flows  at  a  short 
distance  from  Lis-Anisky,  immediately  opposite  which  is  an  ancient 


294  Encampments^  Earthworks,  Etc. 

well  called  Tubber  Lachteen,  or  the  well  of  Lachteen,  containing  a 
beautiful  spring  continually  bubbling  up.  Smith  says  St.  Lachteen 
was  the  patron  saint  of  Donoughmore.  In  the  '  Martyrology  of 
Donegal,'  a  calendar  of  the  saints  of  Ireland,  Lachteen  is  mentioned 
at  July  26  ;  there  is  another  of  the  same  name.  May  i.  Dr.  Reeves, 
one  of  the  learned  editors  of  this  '  Martyrology,'  considers  the  ist  of 
August  the  most  probable  day. 

"  Not  far  from  this  locality  we  were  pointed  out  the  site  of  some 
subterranean  chambers  of  a  different  nature,  called  by  the  country 
people  " Poul-fe-tallif,"  which  signifies  a  "hole  under  the  ground." 
One  on  the  grounds  of  Mr.  Stawell ;  another  in  a  field  north  of  the 
well,  but  separated  from  it  by  the  high-road.  Mr.  Stawell  kindly  got 
some  of  his  workmen  to  open  the  one  on  his  farm  ;  it  was  a  crypt 
covered  with  large  flags,  but  as  the  entrance  was  discovered  a  few 
days  before,  the  labourers  partly  filled  it  with  the  stones  collected 
from  the  field.  On  entering  it  we  found  a  rude  chamber  constructed 
of  loose  stones,  without  any  cement,  kept  in  position  by  the  immense 
flags  that  form  the  roof;  it  was  5  feet  3  inches  in  depth  ;  at  the  base 
of  the  wall,  facing  south,  was  a  small  passage  about  i  foot  8  inches 
square,  leading  into  a  little  oval  cell,  about  2  feet  broad,  in  which 
were  two  small  pillars  of  water-worn  stones.  Whether  they  communi- 
cated with  any  other  crypt  we  were  not  able  to  ascertain.  The  one 
north  of  the  well,  however,  afforded  a  better  opportunity  for  examina- 
tion ;  it  was  entered  on  one  side  of  a  broad  earthen  ditch  by  a  small 
aperture  which  led  into  an  apartment  9  feet  by  3  feet  4  inches,  and 
4  feet  high,  similarly  constructed  ;  on  the  west  was  a  narrow  passage 
6  feet  by  i  foot  4  inches ;  they  did  not  appear  to  lead  further  ;  on 
the  east  was  another  small  passage  covered  with  flags  3  feet  6  inches 
by  I  foot  6  inches,  and  i  foot  2  inches  in  height,  which  we  ascer- 
tained led  into  some  other  recess  which  we  found  on  the  other  side 
of  the  ditch  ;  it  was  covered  with  very  large  flags,  insomuch  that  it 
took  five  men  with  bars  to  remove  one  of  them  so  as  to  allow  a  small 
passage  for  the  body  to  get  through  ;  here  we  found  a  similar  chamber, 
9  feet  8  inches  by  3  feet  2  inches,  and  5  feet  in  height.  We  explored 
another  about  a  mile  from  this  place.  The  chambers  in  the  last  two 
were  oval  in  form.  These  all  possessed  the  same  characteristics,  and 
were  evidently  constructed  by  the  same  people.  There  was  no  ap- 
pearance of  a  mound  having  ever  existed  over  them.  The  country 
people  possessed  no  traditions  respecting  them ;  if  they  were  places 
of  sepulture  no  traces  of  burial  remained.  Several  conjectures  were 
made  as  to  their  use,  such  as  cells  for  hermits,  hiding-places  for 
treasure,  etc.,  but  no  satisfactory  conclusion  could  be  come  at.  In 
the  mountain  of  Garrane  is  also  a  very  interesting  stone  circle  and 
fort  on  the  slope  of  Knockencragh  ;  there  is  also  a  cave.  Giraldus 
Cambrensis  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  earliest  foreigners  who 
mentions  fortifications  constructed  by  the  Northmen  in  Ireland  ;  but 


Remains  of  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Ireland.  295 

that  the  forts  were  in  existence  many  centuries  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Northmen  in  this  country  can  be  proved  from  the  fact  of  their 
being  mentioned  in  the  very  early  Irish  annals. 

"  We  next  turned  our  attention  to  the  examination  of  the  floors  of 
some  caves  that  came  occasionally  under  our  observation.  This  in- 
quiry was  mainly  suggested  by  the  discoveries  lately  made  in  certain 
of  the  caves  in  France,  where,  on  digging  into  the  floor,  large 
quantities  of  breccias,  flint-core,  and  bones  of  various  animals  have 
been  found,  showing  that  these  places  once  constituted  the  wild 
habitations  of  some  barbarous  tribes  of  the  human  family.  We  did 
not,  of  course,  expect  to  reap  so  rich  a  harvest  as  Messrs.  Christie 
and  Lartet  have  in  the  caves  of  Les  Eyzies,  where  the  floor  is  over- 
laid with  a  continuous  sheet  of  breccia,  composed  of  a  base  of  cinders 
and  ashes,  mingled  with  charcoal,  fragments  of  bones,  etc.,  forming 
one  consolidated  mass  undisturbed  since  the  period  of  their  deposi- 
tion. 

On  the  2 1  St  of  June  we  made  a  minute  examination  of  the  caves  at 
the  Ovens.  On  entering  the  cave  we  first  penetrated  the  passage 
leading  to  the  right,  and  dug  into  the  ground  in  several  places.  Some 
branches  were  so  low  that  we  had  to  creep  into  them.  The  floor  of 
this  part  of  the  cave  we  found  to  consist  of  stalactite,  on  breaking 
through  which  we  found  several  bones  and  some  vertebrae  in  sequence  ; 
these  bones  were  firmly  imbedded  in  the  stalactite  floor.  On  exam- 
ination they  turned  out  to  be  the  bones  of  the  wolf,  the  boar,  and 
some  human  remains.  We  next  turned  our  course  towards  the  main 
branch,  and  after  wading  about  a  furlong  through  a  tortuous  passage, 
with  water  varying  from  2  to  3  feet  deep  and  a  muddy  bottom,  we 
eventually  arrived  at  a  large  square  chamber,  like  the  passage,  a 
natural  excavation  in  the  limestone  rock.  One  side  of  this  chamber 
was  particularly  smooth  and  well  shaped,  but  the  whole  was  covered 
with  soot,  and  bore  evident  marks  of  having  been  at  some  time  sub- 
jected to  the  action  of  fire,  and  on  which  were  the  graffiainentos  of 
former  visitors.  In  the  centre  of  this  chamber  is  a  square  pile  of 
stones  about  4  feet  high,  some  of  them  large  and  water-worn,  on  the 
top  a  large  flag.  Around  this  structure  we  dug,  and  about  a  foot 
beneath  the  surface  we  found  bones  mixed  with  charcoal  and  lime 
deposits,  probably  formed  from  the  dropping  of  the  roof;  we  also 
found  a  mussel-shell  among  the  debris.  That  this  cave  was  inhabited 
at  a  remote  period  there  can  from  these  evidences  be  no  doubt,  and 
by  a  tribe  of  savages  similar  as  to  their  mode  of  living,  in  all  pro- 
bability, to  those  which  dwelt  in  the  caves  in  France.  On  the  right, 
before  you  enter  the  chamber,  is  a  beautiful  spring  well  in  a  natural 
basin  of  the  rock  ;  it  appears  to  be  of  some  depth.  On  each  side  of 
the  main  branch  were  other  passages  leading  off,  but  on  this  occasion 
we  did  not  consider  it  prudent  to  enter  any  of  them. 

"Before  concluding  this  subject  I  may  observe  that  it  is  not  uu- 


296  Encampments,  Earthworks,  Etc. 

usual  to  find  an  ancient  church  within  the  precincts  of  a  rath.  A  few 
years  ago  on  digging  a  grave  in  the  churchyard  of  Dunbulloge,  about 
four  miles  north  of  Cork,  a  crypt  was  discovered,  which  on  excavating 
a  few  days  after,  I  was  rewarded  by  finding  two  bee-hive  compart- 
ments, connected  by  a  low  passage.  I  could  just  stand  up  in  the 
chambers,  which  were  very  regularly  constructed  of  small  stones 
placed  endways  in  some  kind  of  cement  like  soft  earth  ;  a  long  passage 
covered  with  flags  ran  upon  a  westerly  direction  from  the  inner 
chamber,  which  may  originally  have  been  the  entrance ;  the  ruins  of 
the  church  stood  just  over  the  crypt.  The  Church  of  Kilbrogan  in 
this  town  was  built  on  the  site  of  one  of  these  forts,  and  was  the  first 
ch«rch  built  in  Ireland  for  Protestant  worship." 

Dundugan  Fort,  in  the  County  of  Louth,  in  Ireland. 

[1752,/.  319.] 

This  uncommon  fort  is  encompassed  with  three  wet  concentric 
fosses,  which  communicate  with  the  river  Dundugan,  as  represented 
in  the  plan.  Great  part  of  the  central  mount,  the  fort  having  been 
long  destroyed,  has  been  cut  away  to  form  a  new  channel  for  the 
river,  which  is  always  very  deep,  and  subject,  during  the  floods, 
which  are  very  frequent,  to  overflow  all  the  adjacent  pasture  and 
meadow-ground,  so  as  to  form  a  considerable  lake  for  several 
months,  especially  in  the  winter  season. 

Buried  House  in  Ireland. 

[1841,  Part  II.,  pp.  413.  414-] 

An  underground  house  has  been  discovered  near  the  old  road 
leading  from  Newbliss  to  Monaghan,  and  about  three  miles  from  the 
latter  town,  and  from  its  perfect  state  of  preservation  forms  a  very 
curious  relic.  A  man  who  lately  got  possession  of  the  farm  upon 
which  it  is  situated,  went  to  remove  an  unsightly  hillock  in  a  small 
meadow  close  to  his  house.  This  little  field  had  been  reclaimed  a 
few  years  ago,  after  the  turf  had  been  cut  off  it,  and  from  it  to  the 
small  lake  of  Keselin  (about  300  yards  below  it)  was,  in  the  memory 
of  an  old  man  living  near  it,  one  continued  heath  moor,  with  several 
spades'  deep  of  turf  under  it;  and  he  had  seen  seven  spades  of  turf 
cut  off  the  hillock  which  formed  the  roof  of  the  house.  The  outer 
wall  is  46  feet  by  about  16.  Outside  the  entrance  is  a  semicircular 
court-yard ;  the  base  of  the  wall  surrounding  it,  as  well  as  that  of  all 
the  other  walls,  is  composed  of  large  rough  stones,  some  of  them 
several  tons  weight,  standing  on  their  ends,  something  like  those  of 
Stonehenge.  The  entrance  divided  the  semicircular  wall  into  two 
equal  segments,  and  was  formed  with  two  larger  stones  than  the 
others,  sufficiently  apart  to  admit  a  man  with  ease.  Inside  the 
entrance   was   an  oval  apartment,  about   12  feet  by  8,  which  was 


Btiried  House  in  Ireland.  297 

arched  over  from  within  about  4  feet  of  the  base.  The  arch  was 
composed  of  flat  stones  of  different  sizes,  so  carefully  selected  and 
fitted  that  the  point  of  a  penknife  could  scarcely  be  inserted  between 
them.  Each  stone  projected  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  the 
underneath  one  until  they  met  at  the  top  of  the  roof,  which  was 
about  6  feet  from  the  ground.  Opposite  the  entrance,  at  the  other 
end  of  the  room,  was  a  similar  entrance  into  a  lobby,  which  led 
straight  to  the  other  extremity  of  the  building,  and  off  which  were 
six  other  apartments,  all  square,  and  built  and  roofed  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  first  oval  one.  The  two  standing  stones,  forming  the 
entrance  from  this  latter  room  into  the  corridor,  stood  somewhat 
narrower  than  those  of  the  principal  entrance,  and  were  rubbed  and 
worn  at  one  particular  part,  as  it  were  from  the  weapons  of  the 
inhabitants  returning  from  their  hunting  or  plundering  excursions. 
The  whole  of  the  floor  inside  was  flagged  with  slabs  of  the  same 
stone,  and  the  outside  of  the  roof  covered  with  the  same  material, 
which  is  the  most  remarkable  circumstance  connected  with  it,  as  the 
nearest  freestone  quarry  is  on  Carronmore  mountain,  in  Fermanagh, 
about  twenty  miles  from  this  place,  and  the  stone  there  does  not 
cleave  into  slabs,  and  is  of  quite  a  different  grain,  the  former  exactly 
resembling  the  Scotch  sandstone  found  along  the  Clyde.  The 
interior  was  found  perfectly  clean,  with  the  exception  of  the  juice  of 
the  bog-stuff  covering  it  having  trickled  down  the  walls.  From  the 
number  of  what  are  called  in  the  south  of  Ireland  "follah  feah" 
(deer  fire),  it  may  be  concluded  that  this  edifice  had  been  the  abode 
of  hunters,  and  that  the  turf-mould  was  first  excavated  in  order  to 
build  it,  and  then  laid  back  again  for  the  purpose  of  concealment. 
The  particulars  of  another  house  found  in  a  bog,  in  the  County 
Down,  are  published  in  the  28th  volume  of  Archceologia,  with 
engravings  from  drawings  by  Lieutenant  Mudge. 


Notes. 


NO  T  E  S. 


I  (page  4).  In  connection  with  this  communication  it  is  worth  while  quoting 
the  following  valuable  communication,  printed  in  1862,  Part  II.,  pp.  142-149  : 
Traces  of  the  Early  Britons  in  the  Neighbourhood  of  Oxford.  A  Lecture  read 
before  the  Oxford  Architectural  and  Historical  Society,  March  18,  1S62.  See 
Genth'iiian's  Magazine,  May,  1862,  p.  576.  In  this  lecture  Mr.  Dawkins,  after 
referring  to  the  great  abundance  of  materials  for  the  study  of  archaeology  in  the 
neighbourhood,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  walk  out  without  meeting  with  some 
vestiges  of  antiquity,  proceeded  to  describe  the  various  excavations  which  had 
been  made  a  year  or  more  ago  in  the  village  of  Standlake,  near  Witney.  The 
series  of  circles  which  had  been  disclosed  he  considered  to  be  of  an  early  British 
period.  He  minutely  described,  therefore,  the  circumstances  attending  their  dis- 
covery, and  the  remains  found  in  them.  He  took  one  of  these  as  typical  of  the 
rest,  which  especially  contained  an  ustritinm,  or  place  where  bodies  had  been 
burnt.  He  also  described  the  urns,  of  which  he  had  two  very  beautiful  specimens, 
which  Dr.  Wilson,  President  of  Trinity  College,  had  kindly  brought  with  him  to 
lay  before  the  meeting.  Other  relics  were  incidentally  mentioned,  such  as  a  bronze 
ring,  an  arrow-head  of  calcined  flint,  etc. 

Such  being  the  cemetery  of  the  early  race,  he  then  described  in  the  same  manner 
the  dwelling-places  and  the  remains  which  were  found  also  in  them,  such,  e.g.,  as 
a  small  iron  link  (the  only  metal-work)  and  some  bone  implements,  and  large 
quantities  of  pottery.  There  was  also  a  mass  of  conglomerate,  which  was  so 
shaped  as  to  serve  as  a  scoop,  and  with  this  probably  these  early  pits  had  been 
excavated.  Besides  these  there  was  a  large  quantity  of  bones  of  animals,  which 
had  hitherto  been  only  loosely  described  as  bones  of  pig,  ox,  etc.,  but  which  he 
considered  were  deserving  of  attention,  as  by  them  much  light  would  be  thrown 
upon  the  habits  of  this  early  people.     He  said  : 

"  I  have  been  able  to  identify  the  following :  The  horn-cores,  teeth,  and  long 
bones  oibos  longifrons,  the  small  short -horned  ox  ;  the  upper  and  lower  jaws  of  a 
large  species  of  dog  ;  the  jaws  and  teeth  of  sheep  ;  a  portion  of  the  lower  jaw  of  a 
colt ;  the  upper  jaw  of  a  red  or  fallow  deer  ;  the  lower  jaw  of  a  pig  or  boar,  and 
the  lower  jaw  of  a  cat;  the  metacarpal  of  a  roe-deer  has  been  polished,  and  probably 
was  worn  as  a  pendant,  as  there  are  marks  of  the  friction  of  a  string  upon  it  near 
one  of  its  ends.  The  evidence  relative  to  the  mode  of  life  of  this  early  race 
afforded  by  the  remains  of  animals  is  by  no  means  unimportant.  For  to  pass  over 
the  short-horned  ox,  which  is  now  not  only  extinct  in  England,  but  in  the  whole 
of  Europe,  and  the  dog,  which  will  be  subsequently  discussed,  the  presence  of  a 
cat,  the  guardian  of  the  hearth,  as  Mr.  Wylie  terms  it,  enables  us  to  make  a 
curious  induction.  Assuming  that  the  habits  of  Pussy  have  always  remained  the 
same,  her  repugnance  to  a  change  of  locality  was  the  same  then  as  now,  and  her 
masters  must  have  had,  to  a  certain  extent,  fixed  habitations.     Again,  from  it  the 


302  Notes. 

presence  of  mice  or  rats  can  be  justly  inferred  ;  for  in  early  stages  of  society  it  is 
highly  improbable  that  a  useless  pet  would  be  tolerated,  and  it  is  a  well-known 
zoological  law  that  the  relations  between  a  flesh-eater  and  its  prey  remain  constant. 
The  bones  of  mice  were  found.  Again,  to  carry  the  chain  of  argument  still  further, 
the  presence  of  mice  implies  the  presence  of  edibles — corn,  or  roots,  or  nuts.  In 
all  probability  it  was  corn  that  attracted  these  vermin  ;  for  that  this  early  race  had 
cereals  is  proved  by  the  ear  of  corn  which  Hoare  found  underneath  an  early 
British  tumulus  near  Warminster.  The  lake-dwellings  of  Switzerland  have  fur- 
nished traces  of  barley,  wheat,  nuts,  beech  mast,  and  even  seeds  of  raspberries. 
Mr.  Stone,  indeed,  thinks  that  some  of  the  circular  pits  at  Standlake,  without  a 
passage  cut  in  the  side,  indicate  that  they  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  containing 
stores.  Thus  the  cat's  jaw  indicates  that  these  aborigines  had  fixed  dwellings,  that 
they  were  plagued  by  mice  or  rats,  and  that  they  had  storehouses. 

"  The  fragments  of  pottery  found,  both  in  the  cemeteries  and  the  abodes,  are  of 
the  rudest  workmanship  and  of  the  coarsest  material.  All  the  patterns  are  either 
rude  impressions  of  a  finger-nail  or  stick,  or  of  parallel  lines  drawn  at  various 
angles  to  one  another,  and  in  the  main  making  Vandykes.  None  of  them  were 
baked  in  a  kiln,  but  after  being  rudely  fashioned  by  the  hand  out  of  the  clay,  were 
hardened  in  the  fire.  It  is  of  the  same  type  as  that  found  by  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoare 
in  the  tumuli  of  Wiltshire.  And  though  at  first  sight  no  possible  connection  can 
be  seen  between  the  burial-mounds  of  Wilts  and  the  cemeteries  marked  out  by  a 
trench  at  Standlake,  which  are  not  raised  above  the  level  of  the  ground,  and 
though  articles  of  gold  and  other  material  of  comparatively  good  workmanship 
have  been  found  in  the  former  and  none  in  the  latter,  both  are  of  the  same  age  ; 
the  one  being  raised  over  the  chiefs  and  their  families,  the  other  being  the  resting- 
place  of  the  common  people.  We  have  indeed  only  to  step  into  a  churchyard 
to  see  a  similar  difference,  flowing  from  a  similar  cause,  between  the  tombs  of  the 
wealthy  and  the  graves  of  the  poor,  the  former  remaining  through  centuries,  the 
latter  in  a  few  years'  time  sinking  down  to  the  level  of  the  ground,  and  leaving  no 
trace  of  their  position  on  the  surface.  Yet  in  both  alike,  on  close  examination,  the 
disturbed  earth  will  after  a  long  lapse  of  time  indicate  the  burial,  and  the  grass 
will  be  greener  and  more  rank  than  the  surrounding  soil.  On  the  field  of  Sedge- 
moor  the  bodies  of  the  common  soldiers  were  collected  together  and  buried  under 
a  mound,  and  though  the  plough  has  long  since  eradicated  all  traces  of  a  mound, 
the  rank  dark -green  grass  still  marks  the  place.  Not  being  satisfied  that  it  was  an 
infallible  sign,  some  few  years  ago  I  investigated  the  spot,  and  at  a  depth  of  about 
2  feet  found  human  bones.  Thus  the  dark-tinted  grass  is  a  more  lasting  memorial 
than  many  which  man  places  to  mark  the  resting-place  of  his  dead." 

Mr.  Dawkins  then  described  the  burial-ground  which  he  had  discovered  in  the 
railway  cutting  at  Yarnton  : 

"In  May,  1861,  while  on  a  geological  excursion,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
ploring a  section  of  the  rising  ground  near  Yarnton,  Oxford,  in  the  cutting  of  the 
Witney  Railway,  close  to  its  junction  with  the  main  Oxford,  W^orcester,  and  Wol- 
verhampton line.  There  were  two  distinct  layers  visible,  the  lower  one  composed 
of  water-worn  pebbles  of  the  neighbouring  rocks,  of  quartz  from  the  Lickey  hill, 
and  of  granite  from  Charnwood  Forest ;  the  greater  number,  however,  were  from 
the  lower  oolitic  limestones  of  the  district.  The  Oxford  clay  also,  upon  which  it 
is  based,  has  contributed  its  characteristic  belemnites — B.  Oweni — all  more  or  less 
water-worn  and  broken,  and  its  own  oysters,  which  being  much  stronger  than  the 
belemnites,  are  in  many  cases  uninjured.  In  this,  as  in  the  rest  of  the  low-level 
gravels  of  the  valley  of  the  Evenlode,  and  Isis,  and  Cherwell,  remains  of  the 
elephant  (teeth  and  tusks),  rhinoceros,  ox,  horse,  etc.,  have  been  found  ;  which 
indicates  clearly  that  the  mammoth  and  its  extinct  and  living  congeners  lived 
either  immediately  before  or  during  the  time  that  this  bed  of  shingle  was  thrown 
up  by  the  sea,  which  then  filled  the  vales  of  the  Thames  and  its  tributaries. 

"  On  the  summit  of  this  gravel-bed  is  a  black  layer  of  earth,  varying  considerably 
in  thickness,  from  5  feet  to  a  few  inches,  with  the  junction  line  by  no  means 


Notes.  303 

uniform.  Here  and  there  are  deep  indentations,  where  the  bl^k  earth  had,  as  it 
were,  encroached  upon  the  gravel  below.  As  we  examined  this  layer,  walking 
westwards,  we  found  innumerable  pieces  of  pottery,  rude  and  half  baked,  together 
with  bones  and  teeth  of  various  animals — of  the  horse,  ox,  deer,  sheep,  dog,  and 
pig.  All  the  bones  were  broken,  and  the  teeth  were  in  the  main  separate  from 
the  jaws.  The  only  jaw  which  we  found  perfect  was  the  lower  jaw  of  a  dog.  These 
remains  became  more  abundant  as  we  advanced  westward,  and  the  black  layer 
became  thicker,  until,  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  cutting,  it  excluded  the  gravel 
altogether  from  view.  About  10  yards  from  this  spot,  and  at  a  depth  of  i  foot, 
we  discovered  a  skeleton,  which  was  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  the  face 
turned  to  the  S.E.,  or  S.S.E.  A  complete  section  of  it  had  been  made  in  digging 
the  embankment,  and  I  obtained  only  the  bones  of  one  side — the  rest  having  been 
carried  away  in  the  soil  removed  in  making  the  cutting.  There  were  numerous 
pieces  of  angular  flint  here,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  black  layer.  On  further 
examination  we  found  a  circular  piece  of  bronze  and  a  small  tag-like  instrument, 
also  of  bronze.  These  were  the  only  traces  of  metal  which  we  discovered.  In 
November  last,  Mr.  Dobbs  and  myself  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  another 
skeleton,  quite  perfect,  which  was  buried  at  full  length  ;  the  skull  is  now  in  the 
osteological  series  of  the  New  Museum. 

"Some  three  or  four  years  ago,  while  excavations  were  being  made  to  obtain 
gravel  for  the  embankment  of  the  Oxford,  Worcester,  and  Wolverhampton  line,  a 
considerable  number  of  urns  and  human  remains  was  discovered  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  to  the  east  of  the  spot  under  consideration.  Unfortunately,  all  the  skeletons 
and  bones  have  been  lost,  or  scattered  among  private  collections  ;  and  of  the  urns 
one  only  has  found  its  way  to  its  proper  resting-place,  the  collection  of  the  Ash- 
molean  Society.  This,  I  am  informed,  at  the  time  of  its  discovery  contained  a 
smaller  one,  which  has  disappeared.  It  was  found  at  a  depth  of  8  feet  from  the 
surface,  near  the  south  side  of  the  gravel-pit,  which  is  now  to  a  great  extent  filled 
up  and  obliterated  by  the  plough.  The  pieces  of  pottery  scattered  about  the 
ploughed  lands  indicate  that  the  burial-grounds  of  this  early  race  of  men  were  of 
considerable  extent  in  this  locality. 

"  But  what  inference  can  we  draw  from  the  above  data  of  the  age  of  this  burial- 
ground  ?  Who  were  the  ancient  people  whose  remains  were  found  here  ?  and 
what  deductions  can  we  draw  as  to  their  habits,  culture,  and  modes  of  life  ?  The 
evidence  as  to  these  points  afforded  by  an  inquiry  into  the  remains  both  of  man 
and  of  the  other  animals,  the  mode  of  interment,  and  the  description  of  pottery 
associated  with  the  remains,  will,  I  apprehend,  give  us  a  very  fair  notion  of  the 
relative  date  of  the  people  to  whom  this  cemetery  belonged,  and  give  us  an  outline 
of  their  customs  and  manners.  All  the  hollow  bones  were  broken,  that  the  marrow 
might  be  abstracted,  while  the  solid  bones  were  in  all  cases  whole.  None  of  them 
belonged  to  old  animals.  Thus  the  jaws  and  teeth  of  the  sheep  indicated,  in  the 
main,  a  creature  about  a  year  and  a  half  old,  and  certainly  not  exceeding  two 
years.  The  remains  of  the  other  animals  indicate  an  age  approximating  to  that  of 
the  sheep.  The  fragmentary  condition  of  the  bones  is  easily  accountable  for  on 
the  supposition  that  the  friends  held  a  funeral  feast,  similar  to  those  in  Ireland,  at 
which  they  ate  and  drank  for  their  own  pleasure  and  the  honour  of  the  deceased  ; 
and  that  they  buried  the  bones  in  the  grave  with  the  remains  of  their  departed 
friend.  They  must,  indeed,  have  been  to  a  certain  degree  epicures  ;  for  the  bones 
indicate  that  they  preferred  young  meat  to  old — veal  to  beef,  and  lamb  to  mutton ; 
while  the  boars'  remains  show  a  decided  preference  for  a  young  porker  over  an 
old  one.  The  teeth-marks  on  one  of  the  bones  of  bos  longifrons  indicate  that  it 
had  been  gnawed  by  some  animal  ;  and  coupling  this  together  with  the  presence 
of  a  dog's  jaw,  it  may  justly  be  inferred  that  dogs  were  present  at  the  feast.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  the  custom  which  Ccesar  mentions  as  prevailing  among  the 
Gauls  also  prevailed  in  Britain  at  this  period, — 'Omnia  qux  vivis  cordi  fuisse 
arbitrantur  in  ignem  inferunt,  etiam  animalia ;'  and  hence  the  presence  of  the 
remains  of  a  dog  among  the  relics  of  the  feast.     This  hypothesis  is  renderad  very 


304  Notes. 


probable  from  the  great  esteem  in  which  British  dogs  were  held  by  the  Romans. 
Strabo,  indeed,  mentions  hounds — 'canes  ad  venandum  aptissimi' — as  being 
exported  from  Britain  to  Rome.  In  a  parallel  case  at  Everley,  in  Wiltshire,  Sir 
Richard  Colt  Hoare  infers  that  the  grave  was  one  of  a  hunter. 

"  Thus  much  light  does  a  consideration  of  the  bones  throw  upon  the  funeral 
ceremonies ;  but  much  more  light  is  thrown  by  it  upon  the  mode  of  life  of  the 
people  themselves.  As  the  remains  of  the  dog  and  roe-deer  imply  that  a  people 
situated  in  a  country  where  wild  game  abounded  were  addicted  to  hunting,  so  do 
the  remains  of  the  sheep,  and  possibly  of  the  ox,  point  to  pastoral  habits.  Sheep, 
indeed,  have  never  been  found  in  a  wild  state,  and  so  long  have  they  been 
domesticated  that  the  stock  from  which  they  sprang  is  not  yet  discovered.  But  of 
all  the  animal  remains  the  most  remarkable  are  those  of  bos  longifi-ons — the  sm.all 
short-horned  ox.  Here,  as  at  Standlake,  we  find  this  extinct  creature  associated 
with  the  remains  of  man ;  and  there  can  be  no  possible  doubt  of  the  aborigines 
possessing  large  herds  of  this  animal.  In  all  early  British  tombs  where  the  bones 
of  animals  found  have  been  properly  examined,  this  contemporaiy  of  the  Irish  elk 
has  been  found.  There  is  no  evidence  of  its  having  existed  long  after  the  Romans 
landed.  In  the  peat -mosses  of  England,  Ireland,  and  the  Continent,  its  remains 
are  frequently  met  with,  associated  in  many  cases  with  stone  and  bronze  weapons, 
and  canoes,  which  in  lieu  of  a  better  term  are  called  Celtic  or  Ancient  British. 
Why  should  it  have  become  extinct  ?  Professor  Owen  thinks  that  the  herds  of 
newly  conquered  regions  would  be  derived  from  the  already  domesticated  cattle 
of  the  Roman  colonists — of  those  boves  iiostri,  for  example,  by  which  Caesar 
endeavoured  to  convey  to  his  countrymen  an  idea  of  the  stupendous  and  formidable 
uri  of  the  Hercynian  forests.  For  my  part,  I  believe  that  the  Roman  colonists  in- 
troduced their  boves  nostri.  And  if  this  was  superior  to  the  indigenous  breed,  as 
it  probably  was,  the  foreign  race  would  gradually  supplant  the  native,  until  at  last 
the  latter  would  either  be  extinct,  or  to  be  found  only  in  mountain  fastnesses, 
whither  some  of  the  aborigines  retreated  with  their  herds.  The  kyloes  of  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  the  runts,  indeed,  are  remarkable  for  their  small  size, 
and  are  characterized  by  short  horns,  as  in  the  bos  longifrons^  or  by  the  entire 
absence  of  these  weapons.  These  races  would  of  course  be  modified  by  the  gradual 
admixture  of  other  blood.  I  have  never  heard  of  a  well-authenticated  instance  of 
bos  longifions  being  found  in  any  burial-place  except  in  a  British  or  Celtic,  though, 
indeed,  it  possibly  may  have  been  found  in  some  few  of  the  early  Romano-British 
period,  at  some  of  the  outposts  of  Roman  habits,  civilization,  and  agriculture.  If 
this  be  true,  the  bos  loiigifrons  may  be  viewed  as  the  characteristic  fossil  of  the 
Celtic  period,  and  one  which  stamps  the  era  of  this  burial-ground  as  surely  as  a 
given  fossil  stamps  the  position  and  relative  age  of  a  given  stratum  of  rock.  On 
visiting  Mr.  Akerman  lately,  he  told  me  that  he  had  never  detected  bos  longifrons 
in  a  Romano-British  or  Anglo-Saxon  tumulus,  and  that  he  thought  my  theory  was 
probably  correct.  Another  kind  of  ox  also  became  extinct  at  this  period,  the  bos 
primig£7iiHs,  which  began  to  exist  at  the  time  of  the  mammoth,  cave-bear,  and 
rhinoceros.  Such  is  the  evidence  which  osteology  affords,  when  applied  to  the 
relics  of  the  British  grave-feast.  It  enables  us,  I  believe,  to  look  upon  the  bos 
lo72giftoi!s  as  the  characteristic  fossil  of  the  period. 

"The  evidence  afforded  about  the  date  of  the  burial  by  the  position  in  which 
the  skeletons  were  found,  is  by  no  means  conclusive.  The  Wiltshire  barrows  seem 
to  prove  that  three  modes  of  burial  prevailed  simultaneously  in  Britain  ;  for  in  some 
the  primary  interment  consists  of  a  vase  filled  with  calcined  human  remains,  in 
others,  of  a  body  at  full  length,  and  in  others,  a  cist  with  the  legs  in  a  bent  or 
kneeling  attitude.  Of  our  two  skeletons  at  Yarnton,  the  one  was  in  a  reclining 
posture,  with  the  legs  gathered  up  ;  the  other  bm-ied  at  full  length.  The  former 
certainly  reminds  us  of  the  description  of  the  death  of  Jacob — 'And  when  Jacob 
had  made  an  end  of  commanding  his  sons,  he  gathered  his  feet  up  into  the  bed, 
and  yielded  up  the  ghost.'  The  skull  of  the  latter  skeleton  is  highly  developed, 
and  indicates  an  affinity  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ;  and  possibly,  though  at  present 


Notes.  305 

there  is  no  evidence,  the  skeletons  may  have  been  interred  at  a  later  date,  amid 
relics  of  a  much  earlier  period.  At  Standlake,  indeed,  the  Anglo-Saxon  cemeteries 
are  close  to  the  ancient  British  villages,  and  so  it  may  have  been  in  this  spot.  On 
the  surface  we  found  a  piece  of  pottery,  which  appears  to  be  Anglo-Saxon. 

"  The  evidence  afforded  by  the  pottery  is  far  more  conclusive  ;  for  it  enables  us 
to  fix  the  relative  date  of  the  epoch.  It  does  not,  indeed,  enable  us  to  say  how 
many  years,  or  even  how  many  centuries,  have  elapsed  since  the  time  when  the 
Britons  or  Celts  buried  their  dead  in  this  spot  ;  but  it  points  to  the  pre-Roman 
period,  and  probably  to  a  remote  era  of  that  period.  It  is  of  the  same  workman- 
ship as  that  found  at  Standlake,  and  of  a  similar  pattern.  The  bronze  implements, 
as  at  Standlake,  point  to  the  bronze  age,  and  probably  to  a  late  epoch  in  it,  for  at 
the  latter  place  a  fragment  of  an  iron  chain  was  discovered. 

"On  comparing  the  human  remains  from  Standlake  with  those  from  Yarnton — 
though  in  the  one  case  cremation  appears  to  have  been  the  rule,  and  in  the  other 
simple  interment — there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  both  of  the  same  date  :  the 
same  animals,  the  same  pottery,  and  the  same  flints  point  out  the  fact. 

"  Roughly-chipped  flints,  indeed,  are  characteristic  of  all  the  earlier  Celtic 
burial-places  ;  and  as  they  are  often  rudely  broken  without  any  apparent  plan,  it 
is  probable  that  they  were  connected  with  some  religious  feeling  or  rite.  They 
sometimes  form  a  pavement  above  the  primary  interment,  and  sometimes  are 
heaped  up  above  it.  In  the  Channel  Islands  the  layer  of  flints  was  represented  by 
a  layer  of  limpet-shells.  Perhaps  the  same  ideas  which  caused  the  Thracians  to 
kill  the  chief  concubine  and  chief  steward  of  the  dead  king  caused  these  ancient 
Britons  to  bury  with  their  dead,  beside  his  weapon  and  ornaments,  the  crude 
material  with  which  to  make  them  in  the  spirit-world.  I  know  of  no  more  curious 
or  more  interesting  subject  than  that  of  flints.  Supposing  that  we  had  no  traces 
of  an  early  flint-using  people,  ignorant  of  the  metals,  the  evidence  that  an  early,  if 
not  the  earliest,  race  made  use  of  flint  alone  for  all  their  implements  can  easily  be 
deduced.  Certain  rites  and  ceremonies  become  engrafted  into  a  religion,  and 
become  part  and  parcel  of  it  ;  and  thus  old  customs  become  preserved  from  a 
religious  feeling,  when  otherwise  altogether  obsolete  or  superseded.  Religious 
habits  are  the  last  to  yield  to  innovation.  Now  if  we  turn  to  Livy,  we  find  that 
the  Roman  Fetial,  j\L  Valerius,  immediately  before  the  conflict  between  the 
Horatii  and  Curiatii,  bound  the  Roman  people  to  abide  by  its  decision  by  sacri- 
ficing with  a  sharp  flint, — '  Id  ubi  dixit,  porcum  saxo  silice  percussit '  (Livy,  i.  24). 
Hannibal  also  consummated  his  vow  of  eternal  enmity  to  Rome  by  sacrificing  with 
a  sharp  flint.  If  we  examine  the  process  of  embalming  among  the  Egyptians,  we 
find  that  they  cut  open  the  side  of  the  dead  bod\'  with  a  sharp  Ethiopian  flint.  Or 
again,  if  we  turn  to  the  Pentateuch,  we  find  that  the  rite  of  circumcision  was  per- 
formed with  a  sharp  flint.  And  in  all  these  cases  the  use  of  flint  had  come  to  be 
part  of  the  religious  ceremony,  and  points  back  to  a  remote  period,  when,  in  the 
absence  of  metals,  flint  was  the  material  out  of  which  all  the  cutting  instruments 
were  formed. 

"The  Vandyke  patterns  on  the  pottery  both  of  Yarnton  and  of  Standlake  bear 
a  striking  resemblance  to  some  of  thnt  discovered  around  the  pile-dwellings  in  the 
lakes  of  Switzerland  ;  and  more  particularly  to  that  of  the  bronze  period.  We 
cannot  expect  the  patterns  to  have  been  identical  in  places  so  far  apart  as  Britain 
and  Switzerland,  but  in  both  the  zigzag  ornament  is  made  on  the  same  plan, 
and  in  both  alike  there  is  an  absence  of  curved  lines.  One  vase,  indeed,  dis- 
covered in  the  Lake  of  Neuchatel,  exhibits  almost  the  exact  pattern  of  apiece  from 
Standlake;  while  another  (No.  i,  Plate  XIII.  of.M.  Troyon's  'Habitations 
Lacustres  des  temps  Anciens  et  Modernes')  resembles  most  strongly  a  fragment 
which  I  found  at  Yarnton.  The  remains  of  the  same  animals  indicate  the  same 
habits — the  dog,  the  cat.  ox,  sheep,  and  deer.  If  this  comparison  be  correct,  we 
have  a  standard  by  which  to  compare  our  relics,  and  can  form  a  fair  idea  of  the 
civilization  and  culture  of  this  early  race.  We  can  mark  off  the  pfahlbauten  of 
Switzerland,  and  many  of  the  tumuli  on  the  Downs  of  Wiltshire,  and  the  relics  at 
VOL.  V.  20 


3o6  Notes. 

Yarnton  and  Standlake,  as  being  of  the  same  relative  date,  and  as  belonging  to 
the  bronze  age,  or,  more  properly,  to  the  transition  between  the  bronze  and  iron. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  will  only  add,  that  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  that 
our  ancient  British  relics  in  this  district  are  of  the  same  relative  age  as  those  of  the 
tumuli  of  Wilts  and  of  the  pfahlbmiten  of  the  bronze  age  in  Switzerland.  And  I 
think  that  it  is  highly  probable  that  bos  longifro7is  is  the  characteristic  fossil  of  the 
period,  and  that  it  will  be  found  to  enable  us  to  differentiate  pre-Roman  from 
Romano-British  cemeteries  and  dwellings. 

"  N.B. — Since  the  above  has  been  in  type,  I  have  examined  some  more  bones 
from  Standlake,  and  to  the  list  of  animals  found  there  must  add  the  marten  and 
the  water-rat.  It  is  very  probable  that  many  of  the  so-called  mice-bones  may  turn 
out,  on  close  examination,  to  belong  to  the  latter  animal." 

2  (page  i8).  On  the  question  of  wolves  in  England,  Mr.  Harting's  Extinct 
British  Aniniah  should  be  consulted  ;  and  there  is  a  useful  note  in  Mr.  Croft's 
splendid  edition  of  Sir  Thomas  Elliot's  The  Boke  named  the  Governour,  vol.  i., 
pp.  192,  193.  Mr.  Hazlitt's  edition  of  ^/oz^w^'j  Teniire^  d.OQ%  not  throw  light  upon 
the  query  suggested  in  the  text. 

3  (page  21).  There  are  the  three  following  descriptions  of  caves  which  I  did  not 
think  should  appear  in  the  text,  but  they  may  well  be  given  in  the  Notes. 

[1817,  Part  II.,  p.  272.] 

A  cavern  of  considerable  extent  has  been  discovered  at  Spaxton,  near  Bridge- 
water.  It  was  visited  lately  by  several  scientific  persons,  who  experienced  some 
difficulty  in  making  their  way  to  the  principal  chamber  ;  but  they  were  agreeably 
compensated  for  their  trouble  by  the  effect  produced  from  their  lights  on  the 
pendulous  incrustations  of  carbonate  of  lime,  which  embossed  its  roof  and  sides. 
Some  specimens  were  brought  away  ;  but  the  owner  of  the  spot  has  properly 
determined  to  preserve  it  in  its  present  state,  as  a  pleasing  object  of  curiosity. 

[1770,/.  536.] 

Having  lately  passed  through  part  of  the  North  of  Scotland)  I  was  invited, 
among  other  curiosities,  to  view  the  dropping  Cove,  as  it  is  called,  at  Slaines. 

This  natural  curiosity  is  in  that  country  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world  ;  and  indeed  it  is  the  most  horrible  cavern  I  ever  beheld.  We  were 
four  in  number,  and  accompanied  by  two  servants  with  flambeaux,  who  conducted 
us  down  a  rugged  and  dangerous  precipice  to  the  entrance  of  the  mouth  of  the 
cavern,  which  I  own  to  you  I  passed  with  no  little  fear.  When  wc  were  entered, 
the  astonishing  height  of  the  hollow  rock  struck  such  a  gloom  as  cannot  be  de- 
scribed. When  I  looked  up,  it  put  me  in  mind  of  Milton's  darkness  visible ;  for 
the  lights  of  the  flambeaux  served  only  to  show  us  the  thick  gloom  that  surrounded 
us.  They  had  the  appearance  of  lanthorns  in  a  thick  fog,  where  a  small  circle 
only  is  enlightened,  and  all  beyond  is  invisible.  Such  is  the  general  prospect  of 
this  dreadful  hollow. 

But  what  is  still  more  striking,  and  fills  the  mind  with  the  most  awful  ideas  of 
the  wonderful  operations  of  nature,  is  the  appearance  of  the  stellactick  pillars,  with 
which  the  immense  roof  is  seemingly  supported.  These  pillars  are  formed  by  the 
continual  droppings  from  the  roof,  which  congeal  like  icicles,  first  at  top,  and 
embody  themselves  into  the  form  of  massy  pillars  in  their  descent,  in  the  manner 
that  I  have  endeavoured  to  lepresent  them  ;  these  in  all  probability  have  been 
forming  from  the  beginning  of  time,  and  those  of  them  that  have  reached  the  floor 
of  the  cavern,  and  now  extend  from  bottom  to  top,  have  been  thousands  of  years 
in  arriving  to  that  perfection. 

Some  begin  to  be  visible  that  have  extended  themselves  from  the  vast  arch 
above,  within  the  sphere  of  light  that  you  carry  with  you  below,  and  these  seem 
suspended  in  the  air,  and  ready  to  fall  upon  your  head  as  you  pass  underneath. 
The  most  perfect  of  these  pdlars  have  breaches  in  them,  as  if  eaten  out  by  some 
corrosive  substance,  as  may  be  seen  at  F.  The  congelations  assume  the  form  of 
tubes  like  the  pipes  of  an  organ,  and  when  they  are  united,  give  the  pillars  the 
appearance  of  being  fluted. 


Notes.  307 

The  drawing  which  I  have  annexerl,  though  I  am  sensible  of  its  imperfeciion, 
will  give  your  readers  some  faint  notion  of  this  great  natural  curiosity,  which  so 
astonished  me  that  I  recollect  the  strange  sensation  with  which  I  was  affected  at 
the  sight  of  it  with  the  most  awful  dread. 

Explanation  of  the  Plate. 
A  the  entrance.     B  the  first  stellactick  pillar.     C  a  congelation  forming  from 
the  floor.     DD  the  appearance  of  the  pillar  from  above.     E  the  enlarged  base  of 
the  most  perfect  of  all  the  pillars.      FF  cavities  in  the  sides  of  the  rock.      G  the 
congelations  as  they  are  forming  on  the  pillar. 

[1772,//.  518,  519.] 

Having  heard  much  of  this  wonderful  curiosity  in  Nature,  I  was  long  ago 
desirous  of  seeing  it,  but  never  had  the  wished-for  opportunity  till  in  the  beginning 
of  October,  when  my  business  led  me  through  that  part  of  the  country  where  it  is  ; 
and  the  following  account  is  the  best  I  can  give,  from  short  notes  taken  down  in 
the  different  parts  of  it,  as  my  conductor  or  guide  informed  me,  who  seemed  to  be 
very  intelligent,  and  behaved  with  the  greatest  degree  of  civility. 

The  entrance  into  this  complicated  cavern  is  through  an  almost  regular  arch,  12 
yards  high,  formed  by  Nature  at  the  bottom  of  a  rock,  whose  height  is  87  yards. 
Immediately  within  this  arch  is  a  cavern  of  the  same  height,  40  yards  wide,  and 
above  100  in  length.  The  roof  of  this  place  is  flattish,  all  of  solid  rock,  and  looks 
dreadful  overhead,  because  it  has  nothing  but  the  natural  side-walls  to  support  it. 
A  pack-thread  manufactory  is  therein  carried  on  by  poor  people,  by  the  light  that 
comes  through  the  arch. 

Towards  the  further  end  from  the  entrance  the  roof  comes  down  with  a  gradual 
slope  to  about  two  feet  from  the  surface  of  a  water  14  yards  over,  the  rock,  in  that 
place,  forming  a  kind  of  arch,  under  which  I  was  pushed,  by  my  guide,  across  the 
water,  in  a  long  oval  tub,  as  I  lay  on  my  back  in  straw,  with  a  candle  in  my  hand, 
and  was,  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  way  on  the  river,  so  near  the  arched  roof  that 
it  touched  my  hat  if  I  raised  my  head  but  two  inches  from  the  straw  on  which  I 
lay  in  the  tub  (called  the  boat),  which,  I  believe,  was  not  above  a  foot  in  depth. 

When  landed  on  the  further  side  of  this  water,  and  helped  out  of  the  boat  by  my 
guide,  I  was  conducted  through  a  low  place  into  a  cavern  70  yards  wide  and  40 
yards  high,  in  the  top  of  which  are  several  openings  upwards,  reaching  so  high 
that  I  could  not  see  to  their  tops.  On  one  side  of  this  place  I  saw  several  young 
lads,  with  candles  in  their  hands,  clambering  up  a  very  rough  stony  ascent,  and 
they  disappeared  when  about  halfway  up.  I  asked  my  guide  who  they  were,  and 
he  told  me  they  were  the  singers. 

At  87  yards  from  the  first  water  I  came  to  a  second,  9^  yards  broad,  over  which 
my  guide  carried  me  on  his  back.  I  then  went  under  three  natural  arches,  at  some 
distance  from  one  another,  and  all  of  them  pretty  regular  ;  then  entered  a  third 
cavern,  called  Roger  Rain's  house,  because  there  is  a  continual  dropping  at  one- 
side  of  it  like  a  moderate  rain.  I  no  sooner  entered  that  cavern  than  I  was  agree- 
ably surprised  by  a  melodious  singing,  which  seemed  to  echo  from  all  sides  ;  and, 
on  looking  back,  I  saw  the  above-mentioned  lads  in  a  large  round  opening  called 
the  Chancel,  19  yards  above  the  bottom  where  I  stood. 

At  the  top  of  a  steep,  rugged,  stony  ascent,  on  one  side  of  this  cavern,  I  saw  a 
small  irregular  hole,  and  asked  my  guide  whether  there  was  another  cavern  beyond 
it.  He  told  me  there  was  ;  but  that  very  few  people  ventured  to  go  through  into 
it,  on  account  of  the  frightful  appearance  at  the  top  of  the  hole,  where  the  stones 
seemed  to  be  almost  loose,  as  if  ready  to  fall  and  close  up  the  passage.  I  told  him 
that  if  he  would  venture  through  I  would  follow  him  ;  so  I  did,  cieeping  flat,  the 
place  being  rather  too  low  to  go  on  all  fours.  We  then  got  into  a  long,  narrow, 
irregular,  and  very  high  cavern,  which  has  surprising  openings  of  various  shapes  at 
top  too  high  to  see  how  far  they  reach. 

We  returned  through  the  hole  into  Roger  Rain's  house  again,  and  from  thence 
went  down  50  yards  lower  on  wet  sand,  wherein  steps  are  made  for  convenience  ; 
at  the  bottom  of  which  we  entered  into  a  cavern  called  the  Devil's  cellar,  in  which, 

20 2 


^o8 


Notes. 


my  guide  told  me,  there  had  been  many  bowls  of  good  rum  punch  made  and  drank, 
the  water  having  been  heated  by  a  fire  occasionally  made  there  for  that  purpose. 
In  the  roof  of  this  cellar  is  a  large  opening,  through  which  the  smoke  of  the  fire 
ascends,  and  has  been  seen,  by  the  people  above  ground,  to  go  out  at  the  top  of  the 
rock.  But  this  opening  is  so  irregular  and  crooked,  that  no  stone  let  down  into  it 
from  the  top  was  ever  known  to  fall  quite  through  into  the  cavern. 

From  this  place  I  was  conducted  a  good  way  onward,  under  a  roof  too  low  to 
let  one  walk  upright,  and  then  entered  a  cavern  called  the  Bell,  because  the  top  of 
it  is  shaped  somewhat  like  the  side  of  a  bell.  From  thence  I  was  conducted 
through  a  very  low  place  into  a  higher,  in  the  bottom  of  which  runs  a  third  water  ; 
and  tlie  roof  of  that  place  slopes  gradually  downward,  till  it  comes  within  5  inches 
of  the  surface  of  the  running  water  under  it.  My  guide  then  told  me  that  I  was 
just  207  yards  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  750  yards  from  the  first  en- 
trance into  the  rock,  and  there  was  no  going  any  further.  Throughout  the  whole  I 
found  the  air  very  agreeable,  and  warm  enough  to  bring  on  a  moderate  perspira- 
tion, although,  in  less  than  a  fortnight  before,  all  the  caverns  beyond  the  first  river 
(where  I  was  ferried  under  the  low  arch)  had  been  filled  to  a  considerable  height 
with  water,  during  a  flood  occasioned  by  great  and  long-continued  rains. 

James  Ferguson. 

The  following  is  a  tabular  statement  showing  the  caves  mentioned  in  the 
Gentlemaii  s  JSIagazine,  and  those  described  in  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins'  Cave 
Hunting  and  Buckland's  Keliquia:  Diluviana: : — • 


Name  and  locality  of 
Cave. 


The  Dropping  Cove, 
at  Slaines,  North 
Scotland    

At  Castletown,  Derby- 
shire   

Near  Nottingham     ... 

Burrington  Comb,  in 
Somersetshire   

Burcott,  in  Worfield, 
Salop 

Spaxton,  near  Bridg- 
water      

Kirkdale,  Yorks   

Yattendon,  Berks    ... 

Seaham  Dene,  Dur- 
ham     

Banwell,  Somerset- 
shire   

Uphill  Hill,  Somer- 
setshire   

Clifton  Down,  Glou- 
cestershire  

Dunolly  in  Argyle- 
shire  

Blackdown  Hills, 
Devon 

Tinwell,  near  Stam- 
ford     

Skye  

Near  Laughearne 

Poltalloch 

Ireland,  near  Cork  ... 

Near  Tilbury    


Date  of  notice 
■  in  the  Gcntle- 
vian's  Maga- 
zine. 


1770 

177I 

1785 

1S05 

iSio 

1817 
1S22 
1S22 

1S23 

1S24 
1S27 
1S28 
1S28 
1831 

1835 
1 841 
1842 
1863 
1865 
1867 


Page  in  this 
volume. 


306-7 

307-8 

22 

22,   23 

23 

306 

24-26 

26 

27 
27,  28 

28 

29 

190 
29-31 

29 

33,  34 
295 

3^-33 


Page  in  Daw- 
kins'  "  Cave 
Hunting." 


Page  in  Buck- 
land's  "Re- 
liquiae Dilu- 
vianse." 


34 
140 


279-284 

293 
294 


1-48 


60 


Notes.  309 

4  (P^ge  34)-  Besides  Stuart's  Sculptured  Stones  of  Scotland,  referred  to  in  the 
text,  it  should  be  noted  that  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson  gave  in  1867  a  special  description 
on  this  subject — Account  of  some  Ancient  Sculptures  on  the  ivalls  of  Caves  in  Fife. 
4to. 

5  (page  34).  I  cannot  discover  that  any  additional  information  was  forth- 
coming. 

6  (page  65).     This  article  is  printed  in  the  succeeding  section.     See  pp.  201-217, 

7  (page  66).  This  article  is  printed  in  the  succeeding  section  of  this  volume 
The  reference  will  be  found  on  p.  212. 

8  (page  77).  There  have  been  many  attempts  to  forge  flint  implements,  the 
most  recent  and  glaring  example  being  that  recorded  by  Mr.  Worthington  G. 
Smith,   in  his  paper  on  the  "  Palceolithic  Floor  at  North-East  London,"  in  the 

Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  vol.  xiii.,  pp.  357-386. 

9  (page  90).  This  is  described  in  a  paper  giving  an  account  of  "  Two  Days  in 
Cornwall  with  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association,"  1864,  part  i.,  pp. 
31 1 -3 15.     The  description  is  as  follows,  and  it  is  accompanied  by  an  illustration  : 

"The  hut  consists  of  two  chambers,  one  circular,  13  feet  in  diameter,  the  other 
rectangular,  9  by  7  feet ;  with  a  communicating  doorway,  B  on  the  plan,  measur- 
ing 4  feet  high  by  3  feet  9  inches  in  breadth.  The  principal  entrance,  A,  5  feet 
6  inches  high  and  2  feet  wide,  has  a  lintel  composed  of  three  slabs  of  granite.  C 
marks  anoiher  entrance  only  2  feet  7  inches  high,  and  2  feet  3  inches  wide ;  one 
lintel  stone  remains,  but  there  were  evidently  others,  for  the  outer  facing  of  the 
wall  on  this  side  has  suffered  much  injury,  many  of  the  stones  having  been  carried 
away.  At  H  the  wall  has  been  broken  through,  thus  affording  a  good  section, 
and  showing  the  mode  of  construction.  All  the  stones — large  blocks  of  granite — 
used  in  this  structure  appear  to  have  been  selected  with  much  care.  In  the 
circular  chamber  each  course  overlaps  that  beneath,  and  the  stones  at  the  height  of 
5  feet  project  inwardly  3  feet  beyond  those  at  the  base,  as  shown  by  fig.  i  in  the 
annexed  woodcut,  and  appears  to  have  thus  continued  until  a  perfect  dome  was 
formed  ;  the  roof  has  fallen  in,  and  the  present  height  of  the  wall  is  from  5  to  6 
feet.  The  masonry  over  the  doorway,  B,  is  stepped  over  towards  both  chambers 
(see  fig.  2),  but  the  remaining  three  sides  of  the  rectangular  one  consist  of  perpen- 
dicular walling  to  the  height  of  7  feet,  without  showing  any  indication  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  roof  was  formed.  It  was  thought  at  first  that  the  rectangular 
chamber  was  of  later  date,  but  on  more  careful  examination  this  was  not  found  to 
be  the  case,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  whole  building  was  constructed  at 
the  same  time.  In  the  end  of  the  rectangular  chamber,  5  feet  from  the  ground,  is 
a  small  window,  which,  as  regards  structures  of  this  kind,  Mr.  Barnwell  considers 
to  be  unique  in  England  and  Wales  : — 

"'For  although  Tref  Caeran  in  Caernarvonshire  may  still  retain  a  doorway  in  the 
outer  defences,  yet  no  other  instance  of  a  window  is  known.  Even  in  the  more 
numerous  and  perfect  specimens  of  such  buildings  in  the  west  of  Ireland  (for  an 
excellent  account  of  which  see  Mr.  Dunoyer's  article  in  the  "  ArchKological 
Journal,"  vol.  xv.)  only  one  window  is  figured  in  Plate  IV.  of  the  article  referred  to, 
and  it  appears  to  have  been  much  more  carefully  and  neatly  executed  than  the  one 
at  Bosphrennis.'* 

"The  masonry  of  the  side  walls  of  the  inner  chamber  appears  to  have  been 
executed  with  much  greater  care  and  regularity  than  the  end  in  which  the  window 
occurs.  At  F  and  E  are  low  platforms  about  18  inches  in  height,  and  at  G  three 
steps  in  the  hedge.  The  use  of  these  platforms  is  not  apparent,  neither  is  it  evi- 
dent what  purpose  the  great  thickness  of  the  south-west  wall  could  have  served. 

*  Archceologia  Caiiibrensis,  Third  Series,  No.  xxxiv. 


o 


I  o  Notes. 


On  the  opposite  side,  it  will  be  observed,  the  wall  externally  follows  the  shape  of 
the  chambers,  whilst  here  there  is,  to  all  appearance,  a  solid  mass  of  earth  between 
the  two  facings.  At  present  there  is  not  known  to  exist  in  Cornwall  any  other 
building  of  the  period  to  which  this  is  assigned  to  be  compared  with  it.  The 
interesting  bee-hive  huts  of  Roughtor  and  Brown  Willy,  described  by  Sir  Gardner 
Wilkinson,  are  of  a  different  character.  One  of  the  gentlemen  present  stated  that 
if  he  had  seen  this  building  of  a  round  and  rectangular  chamber  in  Ireland  he 
should  have  called  it  an  oratory— a  place  in  which  some  religious  man  established 
himself  and  had  a  little  chapel  attached.  Whatever  may  have  been  its  use,  the 
striking  resemblance  of  this  building  to  those  in  Ireland  seems  to  afford  another 
proof  of  the  connection  which  existed  between  the  two  countries  at  an  early  period. 
This  bee-hive  hut  stands  in  the  angle  of  a  small  enclosure,  the  hedges  of  which 
are  built  of  the  stones  which  at  one  time  formed  other  similar  structures,  and 
which  were  destroyed  by  a  former  tenant,  but  within  the  remembrance  of  the 
person  now  occupying  the  estate.  In  an  adjoining  field  are  the  remains  of  the 
foundations  of  rectangular  chambers  surrounded  by  a  rudely  constructed  circle,  and 
at  the  distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards,  among  furze  and  heath,  are  traces  of 
circular  enclosures  resembling  those  at  Chysauster. 

"  After  having  examined  the  bee-hive  hut,  we  retraced  our  steps  through  a  few 
fields  to  the  side  of  a  little  stream,  the  course  of  which  we  followed  for  a  short 
distance,  then  directed  our  way  to  a  croft  on  the  left,  and  came  on  the  fallen  crom- 
lech of  Bosplirennis.  It  consisted  of  four  supporters  3  feet  6  inches  hi^h,  forming 
a  complete  kistvaen  6  feet  by  3,  and  what  is  very  remarkable,  the  covering-stone  is 
circular,  measuring  4  feet  10  inches  in  diameter,  and  5  inches  thick.  The  stone 
must  certainly  have  been  wrought  into  this  form,  and  it  seems  to  afford  the  only 
known  instance  of  the  kind.  It  was  suggested  that  it  was  made  circular  in  modern 
times — in  fact,  that  the  cromlech  was  pulled  down  for  this  stone — and  that  after  it 
had  been  shaped  it  was  found  useless  for  the  purpose  required.  But,  after  all,  it 
scarcely  seems  likely  that  any  one  would  be  at  the  labour  of  rounding  a  large 
piece  of  granite  without  first  ascertaining  whether  it  was  of  suitable  dimensions  and 
quality.  Though — owing  to  the  rough  character  of  the  intervening  ground — we 
had  to  proceed  on  a  roundabout  course,  this  cromlech  is  no  more  than  about  500 
yards  from  the  bee-hive  hut." 

10  (page  104).  I  cannot  identify  this  letter  from  R.  C.  H. — of  course  the  well- 
known  antiquary  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare.  It  is  probably  an  incidental  reference 
made  in  one  of  his  many  communications  to  the  Gefztkuiaiis  Magazine. 

11  (page  114).  Canon  Greenwell  has  since  published,  in  conjunction  with 
Professor  RoUeston,  his  celebrated  work,  British  Ba}-ro2us,  an  Examination  of 
Sepulchral  Aloitnds,  8vo.,  1877. 

12  (page  122).  This  work  has  never  been  published  under  the  title  here  given, 
but  it  probably  was  superseded  by  the  valuable  work  referred  to  in  the  previous 
note. 

13  (page  123).  This  account  of  horse  burial  originated  no  doubt  as  suggested 
in  the  text,  and  in  medieval  times  ;  but  it  is  well  worth  a  place  in  this  volume,  on 
account  of  the  discovery  lately  of  the  burial  of  horses  with  a  chieftain,  which 
appeared  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  1885.  It  may  also 
be  noted  that  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  1823,  Part  II.,  p.  76,  the  following 
note  occurs  : — 

"The  complete  carcase  of  a  horse,  in  a  standing  posture,  was  lately  found  in 
Eaglesfield  peat-moss,  where  it  must  have  been  some  centuries.  The  animal  was 
unshod,  and,  by  the  teeth,  about  four  years  old."  And  in  1S56,  Part  I.,  p.  69,  a 
letter  signed  M.  A.  D.  [query  M.  A.  Denham]  reports  that  during  the  railway 
operations  in  the  townships  of  Piersebridgeand  Carlebury  several  human  skeletons 


N'otes.  3 1  r 

have  been  exhumed,  one  of  which  was  blended  with  the  bones  of  a  horse,  and 
judging  from  the  short  stiff  horns  of  the  animal,  those  of  a  young  bullock.  In  the 
third  grave  the  workmen  found  a  couple  of  lathe-turned  vessels  on  the  breast,  as 
they  said,  of  the  skeleton.  In  September,  during  the  excavations  in  the  township 
of  Carlebury,  and  about  lOO  yards  to  the  east  of  the  station,  other  six  human 
skeletons  were  disinterred.  With  one  of  the  bodies  buried  north  and  south  the 
remains  of  a  horse  were  found,  which  had  been  buried  alongside  those  of  its  master. 
Around  the  neck  of  another  of  the  above  skeletons  a  torque,  or  ring,  nearly  4J 
inches  in  diameter,  formed  of  plain  copper  wire,  was  discovered. 

14  (page  136).  This  paper  is  on  "  Roman  Antiquities  at  Medbourn,  Lincoln- 
shire," and  will  be  printed  in  the  volume  on  Roman  Archccology. 

^S  (P^.?s  138).  I  cannot  discover  that  anything  further  is  described  about  this 
tumulus. 

16  (page  142).  A  great  many  communications  were  printed  on  this  subject,  but 
none  of  them  worth  reprinting.  They  are  as  follows:  1789,  Part  II.,  pp.  605, 
606;  1792,  Part  II.,  pp.  1082-1084,  I181-I183. 

17  (page  147).  This  should  be  August,  1763,  p.  396.  The  letter  is  as  follows  : 
"  The  South-downs  near  this  place  abound  very  much  with  those  lasting  monuments 
of  antiquity,  the  barrows  or  tumuli  of  our  ancestors,  either  British,  Roman,  or 
Danish,  or  perhaps  all  of  them,  the  chiefest  part  of  which  are  of  a  bell  fashion, 
with  a  sink  in  the  middle  ;  some  are  double,  some  single,  others  treble  ;  some  few 
there  are  of  the  long  kind  :  one  in  particular,  at  Aldfriston,  is  55  yards  long,  with 
three  sinks,  one  at  each  end,  and  one  in  the  middle  with  a  deep  ditch  on  each  side, 
from  whence  the  earth  was  thrown  that  composes  it.  A  gentleman  at  Aldfriston 
had  the  curiosity  to  have  one  of  the  circular  ones  opened  a  few  weeks  since,  and 
accordingly  began  on  the  south  side,  and  at  a  few  feet  in,  found  the  skeleton  of  a 
man  lying  on  his  side  in  a  contracted  form,  with  his  head  to  the  west.  The 
bones  were  very  firm  and  hard,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground  on  which  they 
lay,  which  was  a  bed  of  chalk.  During  the  course  of  digging  were  found  ten 
knives  of  different  make,  iron  spikes,  charcoal,  a  thin  piece  of  yellow  metal,  bones 
of  brute  animals,  etc.  In  the  middle,  under  a  pyramid  of  flints,  were  found  an  urn 
holding  about  a  gallon,  full  of  burnt  bones  and  ashes  ;  it  was  carefully  placed  on 
the  chalk  rock,  with  about  4  feet  of  earth  over  it,  was  of  unbaked  clay,  and  had 
some  rude  ornaments  on  the  verge  of  it.  Mr.  Lucas,  of  Aldfriston,  is  in  possession 
of  it,  with  the  knives,  etc." 

18  (page  25S).  This  is  a  report  of  a  meeting  of  the  Kilkenny  Archosological 
Society,  and  the  following  passage  relates  to  the  subject  referred  to  in  the  text  : — 

"A  report  by  Robert  Malcolmson,  Esq.,  on  a  kitchen  midden  recently  dis- 
covered near  Carlow,  was  then  read,  of  which  the  followingare  the  chief  points  : — 

"On  the  part  of  John  Cooper  Shaw,  Esq.,  of  Ardnehue  Lodge,  in  the  County 
of  Carlow,  I  send  for  exhibition  a  number  of  antiquities  recently  discovered, 
under  the  following  circumstances  : — 

"Ardnehue  is  situate  in  the  parish  of  Killerig,  in  the  barony  and  County  of 
Carlow,  and  is  distant  about  three  miles  from  the  county  town,  on  the  road  leading 
from  it  to  Hacketstown,  and  is  on  the  estate  of  the  representatives  of  the  late  Lord 
Downes.  Early  in  the  spring  of  the  present  year,  Mr.  Shaw,  whilst  searching 
for  limestone  gravel  on  a  field  upon  his  farm  next  adjoining  his  residence  at 
Ardnehue,  observed,  at  a  particular  spot  where  the  surface  had  been  removed, 
that  the  subsoil  was  of  a  '  darker,  richer,  and  softer  '  description  than  the  surround- 
ing earth,  and  occasional  fragments  of  bones  presenting  themselves.  Mr.  Shaw 
was  induced  to  undertake  the  excavation  of  the  loamy  soil  there  discovered,  and 
in  the  prosecution  of  that  work  it  was  found  that  this  stratum  filled  what  had 
evidently  been  a  trench  or  series  of  trenches  of  angular  curved  shape,  with 
occasional  off-shoots  of  minor  extent.  The  soil  or  earth  which  has  been  removed 
from  this  deposit  is  calculated  by  Mr.   Shaw  to  have  amounted  to  six  or  seven 


3 1 2  Notes. 

hundred  cart  loads,  the  whole  having  been  found  interspersed  with  animal  bones 
to  a  considerable  extent.  These  were  carefully  picked  and  laid  aside ;  and  a 
number  of  them  having  been  submitted  to  the  anatomical  observation  of  Mr. 
William  Pallin,  V.S.,  of  Carlow,  the  following  report  was  obtained  from  that 
gentleman  : — 

"  '  The  bones,  which  consisted  of  the  remains  of  oxen,  sheep,  pigs,  and  goats, 
were  principally  composed  of  broken  fragments  of  the  articular  ends  of  the  bones 
of  the  extremities,  with  the  remains  of  several  heads,  all  more  or  less  injured,  and 
in  most  cases  having  only  one  horn,  the  other  having  been  broken  off  close  to  the 
root.  A  fractured  depression  in  the  centre  of  the  forehead  denoted  that  death 
was  produced  by  a  blow  from  some  heavy  instrument.  From  the  size  of  the  head 
the  breed  to  which  they  belonged  must  have  been  very  large,  more  particularly 
that  of  the  oxen,  with  a  strong,  wide  frontal  bone,  and  straight  projecting  horns, 
and  in  some  instances,  where  the  teeth  remained  perfect,  which  was  well  seen  in 
the  sheep  and  pig,  proved  that  the  animal  was,  in  each  case,  fully  grown. 

"  '  The  bones  belonging  to  the  oxen  were  principally  the  ends  of  femurs,  fore  and 
hind  cannon  bones,  and  a  few  vertebrae  ;  those  of  the  sheep  were  principally  ribs 
and  bones  of  the  extremities ;  and  those  of  the  pig  upper  and  lower  jaw-bones. 
There  were  also  two  coffin  or  foot  bones  belonging  to  a  small  horse,  but  from  their 
difference  in  size  must  have  been  from  different  animals.  Although  the  bones 
must  have  been  under  ground  for  centuries,  they  were  in  perfect  preservation, 
which  probably  depended  on  the  antiseptic  properties  of  the  earth  around 
them.' 

"The  earth  or  soil  excavated  has  been  used  by  Mr.  Shaw  as  a  manure,  with  the 
best  results. 

"Besides  the  bones  of  the  quadrupeds  indicated  by  Mr.  Pallin,  the  skull  of  a 
dog  and  the  remains  of  fowls  were  discovered.  No  human  remains,  however,  were 
met  with,  save  the  under  jaw  and  teeth  of  a  skeleton,  but  this  was  not  found  in 
such  proximity  with  the  other  bones,  or  in  such  a  position  as  to  lead  Mr.  Shaw  to 
think  that  it  was  in  any  way  connected  with  the  '  kitchen  midden '  in  question,  but 
is  rather  supposed  to  have  been  accidentally  brought  there  in  the  process  of  tillage 
or  manuring  the  farm,  as  an  adjoining  field  is  reported  to  have  been,  in  very 
distant  times,  the  site  of  a  burial-ground.  In  addition  to  these  bones,  of  which  an 
average  specimen  of  the  different  sorts  is  sent  for  exhibition,  in  the  removal  of  the 
soil  from  the  trenches  or  cavities,  which  at  some  points  descended  to  a  depth 
of  8  or  lo  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  field,  and  measured  in  breadth  from  i  or  2 
to  5  or  6  feet,  four  out  of  the  seven  stone  celts  forwarded  by  Mr.  Shaw  were  dis- 
covered. These  I  have  ticketed,  and  numbered  respectively  i,  2,  3,  and  4.  Two 
of  them,  I  fancy,  will  be  pronounced  by  the  Society  to  be  unique  in  shape  and 
appearance — the  large  flat  stone  implement  with  the  circular  extremity,  rough  sides, 
and  polished  edges,"  measuring  \o\  inches  by  3,  and  i  inch  thick  (No.  i),  and  the 
perfectly  lozenge-shaped  celt  or  hammer,  measuring  \o\  inches  long,  by  3  inches 
across  the  lozenge,  and  i^  inches  in  thickness  (No.  2)  ;t  and  all  of  them  are 
evidently  of  the  rudest  and  most  primitive  age,  and  each  of  a  different  description 
of  stone,  though  I  am  not  mineralogist  enough  to  determine  their  precise  composi- 
tion or  lithological  characters.  At  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  in  two  or  three 
distinct  places,  stones  were  found  in  such  a  position,  and  such  unmistakable  traces 
of  charcoal  or  wood  ashes  were  discerned,  with  here  and  there  a  'clinker,'  as  to 

*  "This  celt-shaped  stone  has  all  the  appearance  of  having  been  grasped  in  the 
hand  for  use,  hence  the  polished  edges  from  constant  practice.  It  may  have  served 
for  crushing  corn,  as  its  flat  end  is  blunt,  and  shows  marks  of  wear  and  tear  when 
used  as  a  pounding  instrument." 

t  "  This  stone  hammer  would  have  served  most  admirably  to  fell  the  oxen,  the 
perforations  in  the  heads  of  which  must  have  been  made  by  it  or  a  similar 
weapon." 


Notes.  3 1 3 

leave  no  doubt  they  had  formed  fireplaces.  The  disjointed  remains  of  a  quern,  or 
hand-mill,  were  discovered,  consistmg  of  the  upper  stone  or  convex  muUer  of  a 
grain  rubber,  exactly  such  as  is  figured  in  Wilde's  '  Catalogue  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy '  (stone,  earthen,  and  vegetable  materials),  p.  104,  fig.  82,  No.  2.  Two 
or  three  bone  pins,  or  bodkins,  also  turned  up  in  the  excavation  ;  and  the  fragment 
of  a  two-sided  hand-comb  (No.  5),  found  about  2  feet  from  the  surface,  is  sent  by 
Mr.  Shaw,  with  one  of  the  bone  pins.  This  bodkin  (No.  6)  measures  3^  inches, 
is  sharp  pointed,  and  polished  with  a  flat  head  pierced,  having  a  hole  for  the 
evident  purpose  of  its  employment  as  a  packing  needle.  Some  rusted  iron  remains 
were  found.  One  of  these— probably  a  meat-hook— is  included  in  the  articles 
sent  (No.  7),  but  it  has  been  renewed  in  the  forge  since  its  discovery.  A  small 
curiously  shaped  iron  knife-blade  (No.  8)  is  also  forwarded.  It  is  2  inches  long  in 
the  blade,  and  |  in  the  tang.* 

"  Such  are,  I  believe,  the  only  remnants  of  the  rude  arts  of  past  ages  which  have 
as  yet  been  discovered  in  the  'diggings.'  Much  more  of  the  soil  remains  for  future 
removal,  and  Mr.  Shaw,  who  purposes  continuing  his  explorations  after  harvest, 
will  husband  any  further  discoveries  as  carefully  and  thoughtfully  as  he  has  already 
done. 

"There  was  nothing  in  the  surface  or  appearance  of  the  field  to  indicate  the 
existence  of  this  '  kitchen  midden.'  No  mound,  rath,  or  embankment  can  be 
traced,  from  observation  or  tradition,  as  having  ever  existed  on  the  spot,  which  is 
situated  on  the  gentle  and  natural  slope  of  a  hill,  in  a  field  which  has  been  in  culti- 
vation apparently  for  ages. 

"  The  stone  celts  marked  respectively  A,  B,  and  C,  and  the  portion  of  a  sword- 
scabbard  with  gold  casing  (D),  were  found  in  different  parts  of  the  adjoining  land 
by  Mr.  Shaw." 

19  (page  264),  This  refers  to  a  report  of  a  meeting  of  the  Berwickshire  Naturalists' 
Club,  the  following  passage  being  illustrative  of  the  matter  referred  to  in  the  text. 

[October,  1862,  p.  455.] 

Aug.  15.— A  party  of  members  of  the  Berwickshire  Naturalists'  Club  and  their 
friends  visited  Yeavering  Bell,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  remains  of  ancient 
habitations,  fortifications,  and  burial-places  that  exist_  upon  the  mountain,  and 
which  have  been  recently  opened  out.  Yeavering  Bell  is  a  bold,  insulated  hill,  on 
the  north  of  the  Cheviot  range,  rising  to  the  height  of  about  1,500  feet.  It  has 
long  been  known  that  its  summit  had  been  fortified  at  an  early  period,  and  that  its 
flanks  and  the  various  valleys  communicating  with  it  were  covered  with  the 
remains  of  ancient  buildings.  It  is  the  property  of  F.  Sitwell,  Esq.,  by  whose 
permission  the  explorations  have  been  made.  The  excavations  have  been  con- 
ducted by  Mr.  Coulson,  under  the  direction  of  George  Tate,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  Secretary 
to  the  Club,  at  the  f^xpense  of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Northumberland.  The  Vicar 
of  Wooler,  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Green,  received  the  members  at  the  vicarage  house 
with  much  hospitality.  On  leaving  the  vicarage  after  breakfast,  the  party, 
numbering  nearly  thirty,  was  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  Professor  Simpson, 
Edinburgh,  and  the  Rev.  A.  Stewart  Killin,  Argyleshire.  At  Yeavering  the 
various  conveyances  were  discarded,  and  the  ascent  of  the  Bell,  which  was  swathed 
in  mist,  was  commenced  on  foot. 

It  seems  that  the  whole  of  this  district,  wherever  the  ground  is  sufficiently 
elevated  as  to  be  thoroughly  dry,  is  covered  with  buildings.  The  country  must  at 
these  far  distant  periods  have  been  much  more  thickly  inhabited  than  at  present. 
Many  of  the  hills  have  been  formed  into  terraces,  the  mode  of  cultivation  then 
practised.  In  speaking  upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Tate  said  that  upon  Hecthpool  he 
had  counted  sixteen  terraces,  rising  in  succession  one  above  the  other,  many  of 
them  having  a  platform  of  about  20  feet  in  width,  and  that  this  mode  of  cultivation 

*  "This  seems  to  have  been]  a  penknife,  as  the  point  is  so  formed  as  to  be 
admirably  adapted  for  scraping  or  erasing  on  parchment." 


314  Notes. 

%vas  in  s-ime  instances  resorted  to  on  hills  that  rose  about  1,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea. 

Mr.  Tate  tirst  led  the  way  to  the  excavation  at  the  lowest  elevation — Wormlaw. 
This  was  a  trraisverse  cutting,  where,  at  the  point  of  intersection,  a  cisl  was  found. 
The  cist  consisted  of  slab-shaped  stones  placed  edgewise  round  a  quadrangular 
space.  Theie  was  no  cover.  Within  a  few  bones  were  found  preserved,  some 
flints,  a  few  pieces  of  iron  slag,  and  fragments  of  coarse  pottery.  A  short  dis- 
cussion took  place  by  the  side  of  this  old-world  tomb.  As  the  size  of  the  enclosure 
did  not  permit  of  the  supposition  that  the  dead  had  been  buried  at  full  length,  Mr. 
Tate  explained  that  in  the  earliest  form  of  burial  the  body  was  folded  up  ;  but  in 
a  later  period,  to  which  he  believed  this  example  belonged,  cremation  was  re- 
sorted to.  In  elucidation  of  the  theory  that  the  cause  of  death  influenced  the 
preservation  or  decay  of  the  remains,  Professor  Simpson  related  that  he  had  been 
present  at  the  opening  of  the  grave  of  a  person  who  had  died  of  the  plague,  in 
which  every  trace  of  the  dead  had  disappeared — no  particle  remaining  save  a  frag- 
ment of  the  coffln-lid  handing  down  the  name  of  the  deceased.  In  the  earth  cast 
up  around  the  cist,  Mr.  Wightman,  of  Wooler,  found  a  flint,  and  other  gentlemen 
also  picked  up  relics  of  the  period.  On  the  hillside  in  its  neighbourhood  there 
was  an  abundance  of  nettles,  a  sure  sign  of  human  habitation. 

Moving  away  from  this  point  of  interest,  the  cicc7-one  penetrated  the  mist  in  an 
upward  direction,  and  was  closely  followed  by  the  whole  party,  as  it  was  evident 
to  all  that  to  be  left  a  few  paces  behind  was  to  be  lost  on  the  hillside.  Grouping 
round  the  different  fortlets  at  various  elevations,  the  ancient  manner  of  building  was 
examined  by  the  Club  with  much  curiosity.  Great  stress  appears  then,  as  in  all 
early  ages,  to  have  been  placed  on  the  value  of  thick  walls  ;  and  the  circular  form 
seems  to  have  been  adapted  for  most  structures.  Three  or  four  courses  of  very 
large  stones,  arranged  in  a  circle  10  or  12  feet  in  thickness,  formed  the  groundwork 
upon  which  the  walls,  made  of  smaller  stones,  were  raised  to  a  height  of  about  7 
feet.  In  the  instance  of  one  fort,  a  circle  of  this  description  was  30  feet  in 
diameter.  Within  it,  also  built  in  circles,  were  the  habitations  of  those  who 
defended  them.  In  towns,  or  large  assemblages  of  the  same  huts,  the  diameter  of 
the  circumvallation  was  correspondingly  greater.  Encircling  the  sunmiit  of  the 
Bell,  a  strong  wall  of  the  kind  mentioned  enclosed  a  space  of  twelve  acres.  There 
is  no  evidence,  m  situ,  to  prove  the  materials  of  which  roofs  were  constructed. 
On  account  of  this  absence  of  proof,  bygone  antiquaries  assumed  that  they  must 
have  been  made  of  a  rude  perishable  thatch.  But  this  seems  scarcely  probable. 
In  the  island  of  Uig,  ancient  stone  huts  of  this  description  are  still  occupied,  in  the 
summer  time,  by  the  hardy  and  scant  population  ;  and  these  huts  are  roofed, 
conically,  with  flags  of  stone.  As  stone  was  in  abundance  on  the  spot,  we  may 
conclude  it  would  be  used,  by  a  people  who  prized  strength  and  security,  in  prefer- 
ence to  a  fragile  and  combustible  material  like  thatch.  The  entrance  of  one  fortlet 
is  divided  into  two  by  a  large  upright  stone,  placed  jambwise  in  the  centre  of  it ; 
and  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  to  the  right  of  this  entrance,  there  is  a  guard- 
chamber. 

The  wall  wliich  encircles  the  platform  forming  the  top  of  the  hill  is  of  rude 
structure.  Large  stones  have  been  laid  in  order  for  about  two  courses  to  form  the 
foundation,  and  smaller  ones  are  heaped  upon  them  without  any  attention  to  par- 
ticular arrangement.  The  wall  has  been  10  or  12  feet  broad  at  the  base,  tapering  off 
as  it  rises  ;  its  height  may  have  been  about  7  feet.  Inside  the  fortress,  near  its 
northern  entrance,  is  a  second  enclosure  surrounded  by  a  rampart  and  ditch  of  its 
own.  This  inner  part  would  be  the  place  of  greatest  security.  The  ditch  has  been 
cleared.  It  is  partly  excavated  out  of  the  rock  ;  and,  curiously  enough,  charred 
wood  was  found  in  the  bottom  of  it.  Nothing  was  found  to  justify  the  idea  enter- 
tained by  the  older  antiquaries  that  this  was  a  Druids'  temple.  Several  circular 
dwellings  which  were  partly  formed  by  excavation  have  been  cleared.  Nothing  of 
impoitance,  except  a  few  relics,  which  will  be  presently  noticed,  was  found.  Tlie 
Secretary  was  of  opinion  that  this  was  simply  the  innerm.ost  retreat,  into  which  the 


Notes.  3 1 5 

tnbe  fled  for  safety  on  notice  of  attack.  It  is  possible  that  it  may  have  been 
the  stronghold  in  which  the  warriors  placed  their  M'ives  and  children  on  such 
emergencies,  as  it  would  not  be  occupied  as  a  matter  of  choice,  for  the  fatigue  of 
nscent,  carrying  water  and  provisions,  would  have  been  excessive.  The  ancient 
Britons  were  not  unacquainted  with  the  convenience  of  good  roads.  A  long  length 
of  track-way,  leading  from  the  base  of  the  hill  to  the  forts  near  the  summit,  dis- 
closed their  mode  of  road-making.  The  track  was  excavated,  and  the  earth  taken 
out  was  thrown  up  on  either  side,  forming  embankments,  which  were  strengtheiied 
with  stone-work.  The  examination  of  one  hut  circle  revealed  two  successive 
occupations.  A  foot  and  a  half  below  the  surface  fragments  of  pottery  \yith  a 
yellow  glaze,  and  a  piece  of  lead,  were  found.  These  objects  indicate  residence 
in  the  Romano-British  period.  Four  feet  below  the  surface,  the  explorers  came 
to  flints,  slag,  and  bones— evidences  of  Celtic  pre-occupation.  These  facts  are 
exceedingly  interesting  in  more  ways  than  one.  Assuming  that  this  hut  was 
deserted  about  the  time  of  the  advance  of  the  Roman  legions,  they  would  go  to 
show  that  in  the  four  or  more  centuries  whicfh  elapsed  before  it  was  again  inhabited, 
a  covering  of  soil  2.h  feet  deep  had  accrued.  This  furnishes  data  for  the  exhuma- 
tion of  buried  antiquities  generally,  and  leads  us  to  consider  that,  in  the  lapse  of  a 
thousand  years,  it  need  scarcely  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  all  evidence  of  roofing, 
always  the  first  part  of  a  ruinous  building  to  fall,  should  have  disappeared. 

The  general  impression  gained  of  the  ancient  people  by  the  day's  investigations 
pictures  them  as  thickly  populating  the  Cheviot  district  ;  living  in  circular  huts 
constructed  of  stone  ;  protected  by  circular  stone  walls  ;  growing  corn  on  terraces 
on  the  hill  sides,  above  the  flooded  valleys  ;  burning  wood  for  fuel ;  using  coarse 
pottery  for  household  purposes  ;  and  flint-headed  arrows  ;  not  altogether  ignorant 
of  the  use  of  metals — fighting  with  iron-headed  spears  ;  hardy,  vigilant,  and 
warlike. 

The  party  now  descended  the  west  side  of  the  hill,  and  examined  some  very 
marked  lines  of  entrenchment  which  have  not  yet  been  excavated.  One  of  them 
has  a  double  rampart,  and  is  of  quadrangular  shape. 

The  Club  next  made  for  Old  Yeavering,  for  the  purpose  of  viewing  a  building 
of  a  later  era — the  reputed  palace  of  King  Edwin.  This  is  a  low,  oblong,  quad- 
rangular building,  now  occupied  as  a  hind's  cottage.  A  few  courses  of  large  stones 
at  the  base  of  the  masonry,  and  a  fragment  of  walling  built  up  with  the  modem 
superstructure,  are  the  only  evidences  of  a  very  early  building,  except  the  strength 
of  the  walls,  which  are  5  feet  thick.  In  the  account  of  the  life  and  labours  of 
Paulinus,  Bede  mentions  that  he  came  with  the  King  and  Queen  to  the  royal 
country  seat,  which  is  called  Adgefrin  (Yeavering),  and  stayed  there  with  them 
thirty-six  days,  fully  occupied  catechizing  and  baptizing  ;  during  which  days,  from 
morning  to  night,  he  did  nothing  else  but  instruct  the  people,  resorting  from  all 
villages  and  places,  in  Christ's  saving  word  ;  and,  when  instructed,  he  washed 
them  with  the  water  of  absolution  in  the  river  Glen,  which  is  close  by.  This  town, 
he  adds,  under  the  following  kings  was  abandoned,  and  another  was  built  instead 
of  it  at  the  place  called  Melmin  (Millfieklj.  This  account  favours  our  acceptance 
of  the  tradition  that  the  ancient  masonry  indicated  formed  part  of  the  country 
palace  of  the  Christian  king,  and  it  can  only  be  a  matter  of  regret  that  so  small  a 
portion  remains  of  it. 

The  Club  returned  to  Wooler  to  dine  together.  After  dinner,  at  which  Mr. 
Langlands  presided,  in  consequence  of  the  President  (Mr.  Boyd,  of  Hetton)  having 
been  obliged  to  take  his  leave  before  the  company  sat  down,  the  Secretary  ex- 
hibited the  relics  found  during  the  course  of  the  explorations.  There  were,  in 
addition  to  the  articles  already  named,  some  millstones,  a  quantity  of  pottery,  some 
fragments  of  armlets,  formed  apparently  of  oak,  several  sharpening  stones,  and  a 
portion  of  an  armlet  of  variegated  glass  of  peculiarly  excellent  manufacture.  Much 
of  the  pottery  was  coarse  ;  other  fragments  were  finer  in  texture,  and  of  more 
elegant  shape.  The  finer  kinds  were  found  at  a  higher  level  than  the  others,  and 
are  thought  to  have  been  formed  after  the  Roman  model.     No  doubt  the  presence 


3i6 


Notes. 


of  the  Romans  would  have  an  influence  upon  such  of  the  Britons  as  submitted  to 
their  rule.  The  glass  armlet  was  thought  to  be  an  importation.  Some  of  the 
pottery  had  a  glaze  upon  it.  This  is  a  very  unusual  thing  in  encampments  supposed 
to  be  of  the  Celtic  era,  though  one  instance  of  it  had  occurred.  Mr.  Mason,  of 
Pallinsburn,  also  exhibited  weapons  found  at  Old  Yeavering. 

20  (page  266).  No  further  communication  appears  to  have  been  sent  upon 
this  camp. 

21  (page  272).  This  refers  to  a  report  of  a  meeting  of  the  Cambrian  ArchEeo- 
logical  Society,  the  following  passage  illustrating  the  text : — 

{October,  1852,  p.  405.] 

"At  an  evening  meeting  Mr.  Moggridge  described  a  cruciform  mound  at  Margam 
in  Glamorganshire  ;  and  Viscount  Dungannon  read  an  account  of  excavations 
which  he  has  recently  caused  to  be  made  at  Valle  Crucis  Abbey,  Denbighshire. 
Several  objects  of  interest  were  discovered,  and  among  them  a  tomb,  the  inscrip- 
tion of  which  bore  the  very  early  date  of  1292.  His  lordship,  before  concluding 
his  paper,  expressed  a  hope  that  the  noble  owner  of  Ludlow  Castle  (Earl  Powis) 
would  permit  excavations  to  be  made  therein  ;  and  the  President  said  he  should 
convey  the  suggestion  to  the  proper  quarter,  and  there  was  no  doubt  that  such  ex- 
cavations would  be  permitted. 

22  (p.  284).  This  subject  has  been  much  discussed  by  the  members  of  the 
Somer.^et  Archceological  Society,  Mr.  T.  Kerslake  taking  the  view  that  the  Pensel- 
wood  pits  are  relics  of  early  occupation,  and  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Winwood  thinking 
they  are  remains  of  quarries  made  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  stones  for  querns 
and  other  purposes.  "When  the  two  parties  had  failed  to  convince  each  other, 
General  Pitt  Rivers,  inspector  of  ancient  monuments  in  Great  Britain  under  the 
Ancient  Monuments  Bill,  printed  a  "  Report  on  Excavations  in  the  Pen  pits,  near 
Penselvvood,  Somerset,"  and  he  decides  entirely  in  favour  of  Mr.  Winwood. 

23  (p.  288).  I  may  refer  to  my  work,  Primitive  Folk-moots,  or  Of  en-air  Assemblies 
in  Great  Britain,  for  an  explanation  of  this  interesting  subject.  The  contents  of 
the  following  chapters  illustrate  the  great  scope  to  which  this  phase  of  early  life 
extends  : — Chapter  III. — The  Evidence  of  Early  English  Records  :  Historical 
Value  of  this  Evidence— Beda— Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle — Codex  Diplomaticus — 
Council  on  the  Banks  of  the  River  Nodder — On  the  Banks  of  the  Nidd — On  the 
Humber — King  Edgar's  Charter  to  Ely — -Welsh  Examples — Cuckhamsley  Hill — 
Bridge  at  Grantebnicge — Infra  cimiterium  Eliensis — On  the  Tyne.  Chapter  IV. — 
The  Revival  of  the  Primitive  Form :  Historical  Value  of  the  Revival — Evidence 
of  the  National  Assembly  reviving  its  Old  Open-air  Meetings :  Mr.  Freeman's 
Examples,  Runnymede — The  Local  Assembly:  Pennenden  Heath,  Shire-moot  of 
Berks,  Mendip — Summary.  Chapter  V. — The  Historical  Survival  in  England  ; 
Sources  of  Evidence — Historical  Value  of  the  Survival — Tynwald,  Isle  of  Man 
— Its  Initial  Importance— -Gorseddau  of  Wales — The  Hundred  Courts:  Of  Nor- 
folk, Stone  in  Somersetshire,  Alwicke  and  Younsmere  in  Sussex,  Swanborough  in 
Wilts,  of  Warwickshire — Jllining  Courts:  Stannary  Courts  of  Cornwall,  Derby- 
shire Barmote — Court  of  Dens  in  Kent — Forest  Courts:  Hesketh  in  Cumberland, 
Belbroughton  in  Worcestershire — Charnwood,  Knaresborough — Manorial  Coiirts : 
Their  Primitive  Origin — Pamber,  Rochford,  Somerton,  Warnham,  Dunstone, 
Kingsborough,  Guernsey,  etc. — Municipal  Boroughs:  High  Wycombe,  Lost- 
withiel,  Bishop's  Castle,  Hastings,  Dover,  London,  etc. — Summary.  Chapter  VI. — 
Open-air  Courts  in  Scotland  :  Orkney  and  Shetland — Scone — Barony  of  Lang- 
forgrund — Strathern — Crieff — Liston — Torbolton  —  Dunning  —  Ellon —  Hawick  — 
Badenach — Cupar — Conan — Aberdeen — Cluny — Birlaw  Court.  Chapter  VII. — 
Traditional   and  Philological    Evidence  :    Historical    Value   of  this   Evidence — 


Notes.  3 1 7 


Allusion  in  old  Writers — in  Folk-tales — Shire-vioot :  Shire  Oaks,  Nottingham- 
shire, Staffordshire,  Shyrack,  Sherriff  Muir  in  Cumberland,  Town  Names,  etc. 
— Hundred-moot:  Of  Dorset,  Yorkshire,  Sussex,  Worcestershire,  Norfolk,  Kent, 
Notts,  Lincolnshire,  Lancashire,  Northamptonshire,  Surrey,  Cheshire,  Middlesex, 
Oxon,  Herefordshire,  Staffordshire,  Warwickshire — General  Value  of  the  Evidence 
of  Open-air  Shire  and  Hundred-moots — Some  Circles  of  Stones — Moot  Barrows 
— Moot  Hills — Hill  of  Banners — Place  Names  connected  with  Moot  Hills — Place 
Names  connected  with  Tingwalls — Courts  of  Ridings — Hustings  Court — Field 
Names — Trees.  Chapter  VHL — Evidence  of  Place  Names  and  Traditions  in 
Scotland  :  Old  Traditional  Rhymes — Some  Circles  of  Stones — Moot  Hills — Law 
Hills — Court  Hills — Gallows  Hills — Other  names. 


INDEX 


Aberdeenshire,  tumulus  discovered  in, 
iS8,  1S9.  See  "  Bass,'^  "  Nether- 
muir,"  "Tillidron" 

Abingdon,  bronze  and  flint  weapons 
found  near,  75  ;  pottery  found  near, 

75,  76 
Adams   (T.),    on   ancient   oak    paddle 

found  at  Shaftesbury,  51 
Addington  Park,  Kent,   cromlechs  at, 

111-113 
Aggleston    Stone    Barrow,    Somerset- 
shire, 267-269 
Agriculture,  terrace  cultivation,  313 
Aldfriston,  tumuli  at,  311. 
Amber  beads  found  in  cairn  in  Isle  of 

Skye,    172;    at  Northwold,  139;  in 

Yorkshire  tumulus,  120 
Ancroft   Moor,  flint   arrow-head  found 

at,  65 
Anglo-Saxons,  battle  of,  with  Britons, 

,  pottery  in  Cleveland  district,  221; 

at  Yarnton,  305 
Animals,      antediluvian,    vertebrae    of, 

found,  12 

,  extinct,  of  Ireland,  6-9 

,  bones  of,  found  at  Chelsea,  19,  20 

,    remains    found    in    barrow    on 


Kentish  Downs,  275,  276 ;  in  caves,  23, 

26,  27,  28,  33  ;   remains,  fossil,  10-21 
Antrim,  see  "  Longhziel" 
"  Apron    full   of  stones,"     barrow    so 

called  near  Stackhouse,  151-154 
Archaeological  objects  exhibited,  70,  71 
Archery   esteemed   among  the  ancient 

Britons,  58 
Argyleshire,  cave  burial  in,  190 
Armillce,  bronze,  discovered  at  HoUing- 

bur)',  147 


Armlets,  bronze,  found  in  Yorkshire 
tumulus,  119,  120;  glass,  found  in 
huts  on  Cheviot  Hills,  2S9 

Armour  found  at  Beacon  Hill,  Carlisle, 
124 

Arras,  near  Market  Weighton,  barrows 
at,  121 

Arrow-heads,  bronze,  found  near  Here- 
ford, 58  ;  at  Romford,  143 

,  flint,  found  near  Abingdon,  75  ; 

in  tumulus  in  Berwick,  191  ;  at 
Cleveland,  249,  254 ;  in  tumuli  in 
Cleveland,  213,  226,  229,  237  ; 
in  Gristhorpe  tumulus,  157  ;  at 
Newton  Mulgrave.  68,  69  ;  in  North- 
umberland, 65  ;  in  tumulus  near 
Scarborough,  161  ;  at  Standlake, 
Oxfordshire,  301  ;  in  tumuli  in  York- 
shire, 65,  121,  202 

,  stone,  found  in  Britain,  57,  58, 

59  ;  in  tumulus  in  Cleveland  district, 
213 

Arrows  and  spears  exhibited,  70 

Arundel,  tumulus  opened  near,  148 

Atkinson  (J.C.),  on  ancient  stone  mor- 
tar found  at  Castleton,  65,  66  ;  on 
site  of  Celtic  flint  implement  factories 
discovered,  66-68  ;  on  "houes,"i69- 

171 

Attleborongh,  Norfolk,  bronze  imple- 
ments found  at,  74 

Atwick,  fossil  remains  found  at,  13,  14. 

Axe-blades,  bronze,  found  near  Colleo- 
nard,  76 

Axe-heads,  bronze,  found  at  Romford, 

,  stone,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 177  ;  in  Cleveland  district,  215, 
23S 


Index. 


319 


Ballylaneen,  Upper,  oak  canoes  found 

in  bog  at,  56,  57 
Banffshire,  tumuli  in,  186-188,  190,  191, 

see  "  CoUeonard  " 
Banwell,  ancient  caves  at,  27,28 
Barrows  in  Cornwall,  90-94 ;  opened  at 

Deal,  275,  276;  Dorsetshire,  98-111; 

called  King-barrow,  opening  of,  94, 

95;    on  the   South   Downs,   Sussex, 

96,97;  Yorkshire,  1 14-123;    shaped 

like  ships,  97 
Basin  hone,  in  Cleveland  district,  211- 

Basket,  wicker,  found  in  Gristhorpe 
tumulus,  157,  160 

Bass,  hill  called,  in  Aberdeen,  86 

Bath,  tumulus  discovered  near,  139-143 

Battle-axe,  bronze,  found  in  Cambridge- 
shire, 73 

Beacon  in  Lincolnshire,  279 

Beacon  Hill,  Carlisle,  skeleton  found 
at,  124 

Beads  found  with  human  skeleton  at 
Nevvington,  133;  at  Northwold,  139; 
in  tumuli  near  Stonehenge,  151;  in 
Yorkshire  tumulus,  120 

,  amber,  found  in  cairn  in  Isle  of 

Skye,  172 

,  glass,  found  in  sepulchral  inter- 
ments, 17  ;  in  huts  on  Cheviot  Hills, 
289 

,    jet,    discovered    in    tumulus  in 

Cleveland  district,  233  ;  in  cairn  in 
Northumberland,  264 

,  stone,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 179 

Bear,  bones  of,  found  in  cave  at  Ban- 
well,  27 

Beaver,  bones  of,  found  in  Irish  tumuli, 

293 

Bedfordshire,  see  "  Biggleswade  " 
Bee-hive  chambers  in  Irish  church  crypt 

found,  295 
,  structure  discovered  at  Bosphren- 

nis,  Cornwall,  90,  309,  310 
Beith,  cairn  discovered  in,  189 
Belfast  Museum,   bones    of  animal    of 

lizard  type  preserved  in,  9 
Bell,  iron,  found  in  cairn   in  Orkney, 

184,  185 
Bere  (Thomas),  on  tumulus  discovered 

near  Bath,  139-142 
Berkshire,  see  "Abingdon,"  "  Yatten- 

don  " 
Berwick,  tumulus  discovered  in,  191 
Beverle}',   skeletons   found  near,    115  5 

tumulus  opened  near,  83 


Bewick  (Old), Northumberland,  remain^ 

of  British  villages  at,  263 
Biggleswade,  Beds,   discoveries  during 

excavation  at,  123 
Birds,  bones  of,  found  in  caves,  25,  27, 

28;  in  tumulus  near  Lewes,  148;  in 

tumuli  in  Caithness,  iSi 
Blackdown  Hills,  Devon,  caves  at,  29- 

31 

Blarney,  Cork,  camp  excavated  at,  292 
Blight  (J.  T.),  on  Barrows  in  Cornwall, 

90-94 
Boar,  bones  of,  discovered  in  tumulus 

near  Lewes,  148;  wild,  in  Ireland,  8 
,  tusk  of,  discovered  in  Cleveland 

district,  243 ;  in  tumulus  at   Nymps- 

field,     131;    in   Yorkshire    tumulus, 

121 
Boats  used  by  the  ancient  Britons,  43- 

51 
■,  ancient  oak,  discovered  at  Glas- 


gow, 54,  55 ;  at  Nethermuir,  56 ; 
at  North  Stoke,  54;  at  Perth,  54; 
in  Loch   Spynic,    55;    at   Worthing, 

53,  54 

Boffington,  Hants,  stone  implements 
found  at,  61  ;  pavement  of  flints  and 
stones  found  at,  61 

Bone  implements,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  181  ;  in  Gristhorpe  tumu- 
lus, 157;  in  High  Ousegate,  York, 
64  ;  in  cairn  in  Orkney,  184 

,  pin,  discovered  in  Carlow,  312  ; 


in  tumuli  in  Cleveland  district,  ^227, 
228,  237,  239;  in  tumulus  at  Gris- 
thorpe, 154,  157 

Bones,  animal,  found  in  tumulus  at 
Aldfriston,  31 1  ;  in  cave  in  Argyle- 
shire,  190;  found  at  Boughton 
Hall,  Maidstone,  15,  16;  in  tumuli 
in  Caithness,  180,  181;  in  barrow 
in  Cornwall,  93;  in  cave  in  Dur- 
ham, 27 ;  in  earthen  chambers, 
Ireland,  292;  in  Irish  caves,  295; 
in  barrow  on  Kentish  Downs,  275  ; 
in  tumulus  near  Lewes,  148;  in 
cairn  in  Orkney,  185;  in  cave  in 
Salop,  23,  24;  in  Yorkshire,  24;  at 
Standlake,  Oxfordshire,  301 ;  in 
tumulus  near  Sterling,  168;  in  tu- 
muli at  Whittlesford,  88,  89 ;  in  York- 
shire tumuli,  120,  121,  255 

,  fish,  discovered  in  cairn  in  Orkney, 

186 

,  fossil,  discovered,  11 

-,  human,  found  in  oak-tree  coffin 


in  barrow,   94,    95;    in    tumulus  in 


320 


Index 


Aberdeenshire,  1S9  ;  in  Sutton 
Courtney,  near  Abingdon,  75 ;  in 
Banffshire,  186- 1S8,  190,  191;  in 
tumuhis  near  Bath,  141  ;  in  tumulus 
inBeith,  189;  in  tumuhis  in  Berwick, 
191 ;  at  Biggleswade,  123  ;  in  tumulus 
in  Caithness,  177,  179;  in  tumuli 
in  Cleveland  district,  165,  213,  214, 
216,  220,  224,  227,  229,  231,  234,  239, 
240,  248,  249,  252,  254;  261;  in 
barrow  in  Cornwall,  92;  in  Dorset- 
shire barrows,  100-102,  105,  io6,  107, 
108,  109,  126,  127;  in  cave  in  Dur- 
ham, 27;  in  tumulus  at  Extwistle, 
160;  in  tumulus  at  Fesmond,  139; 
near  Fulbourn,  Cambridgeshire,  73 ; 
in  Gloucestershire  barrows,  130;  in 
tumuli  in  Ireland,  293 ;  in  urns  in 
Mayo,  196;  in  Norries  Law,  186;  in 
tumulus  at  Nympsfield,  131;  in  cairn 
in  Orkney,  182-184 ;  in  tumuli  in 
Perthshire,  193;  at  Romford,  143; 
in  cave  in  Salop,  23,  24  ;  in  tumulus 
near  Stackhouse,  153 ;  at  Trosley, 
134 ;  in  tumulus  at  Throwley,  145  ; 
in  tumulus  in  Tyrone,  196,  197  ;  in 
coffins  in  tumuli,  Yorkshire,  83;  in 
Yorkshire  barrows,  114, 115, 117, 118, 
122  ;  in  tumulus  in  Zetland,  188 

Bones,  split  longitudinally,  found  in 
Yorkshire  tumulus,  257 ;  petrified 
animal,  discovered,  10,  1 1 

Bos,  genus,  extinct  species  of,  found,  20 

Bosphrennis,  beehive  huts  at,  90, 309-3 10 

Boughton,  bones  and  teeth  of  extinct 
animals  found  at,  15,  16 

Bows  and  arrows  used  by  ancient 
Britons,  57,  58,  59 

Brewer  (W.  H.),  on  ancient  cavern  dis- 
covered in  Berks,  26 

Bridge  called  "Pont  Dinas "  at  Mer- 
thyr  Tidfil,  290 

Bridlington,  fossil  elephant's  tusk  found 
at,  14 

Bridport,  vertebrce  of  antediluvian  ani- 
mal found,  12 

Brigg,  Lincolnshire,  hock-bone  of  me- 
gatherium found  in  river  Ancholme, 
near,  21 

Brimington,  Derby,  stone  implement 
found  in,  60,  61 

Bristol,  barrow  opened  at,  139 

Britain,  metal  introduced  into,  by 
Phcenicians,  164 

British  Camps  at  Llanbadarn  Fawr,  291 

British  colonies,  remains  of,  in  caverns, 
22 


British  hill  fortresses,  264-266 

villages,  263,  264  ;  in  Northum- 
berland, 282 

Britons,  Ancient,  funeral  ceremonies  of, 
103  ;  the  naval  power  of,  43-51 

Briton  (J.),  cromlech  near  Marlborough, 

Broadswords,  found  in  cave  in  Argyle- 

shire,  190 
Brooches  found  in  tumuli  near  Stone- 

henge,  151 
Bronze  arrowhead  found  near  Hereford, 

58 
breastplate    found   in   Cleveland 

tumulus,  258 

dagger,  discovered  in  tumulus  in 


Cleveland,  226 

fibula;,    discovered   at  Northwold, 

139  ;  in  Yorkshire  barrows,  118,  119 

implements,  found  in  Cambridge- 
shire, 73  ;  near  Hollingbury  Castle, 
73,  147  ;  in  river  Lark,  Suffolk,  73  ; 
at  Romford,  143  ;  in  cave,  22,  23 

knife,    discovered    in   tumulus    in 

Aberdeenshire,  189 

needle,    found    in    tumulus    near 

Swinton,  167 

objects,    discovered   in   Cleveland 

district,  244 ;  at  Copgrove,  Yorkshire, 
284  ;  at  Yarnton,  Oxfordshire,  303- 
305  ;  in  Yorkshire  barrow,  115 

- — —  ring,  found  at  Standlake,  Oxford- 
shire, 301 

rivet,  found  in  Yorkshire  tumulus. 


121 

—  spear-head,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  178  ;  in  tumulus  at  Gris- 
thorpe,  154,  156,  159 ;  in  Orkney, 
182 

—  thuribulum,  discovered  in  ,cave 
in  Wales,  193 

weapons,  discovered  on  Rosebery 


Topping,  202 
Broughlow,  Celtic  remains  at,  289 
Brus,  De,  family,  seat  of,  212 
Buckles,   found  in  tumuli  near  Stone- 

henge,  151 
Buildwas,  Shropshire,  ancient  oak  tim- 
ber found  at,  39 
Burcott,  Salop,  cave  discovered  at,  23, 

24 
Burghs,  tumuli  so  called  at  Lewes,  147 
Burial  in  Wiltshire  barrows,  304 
Burial-place  of  monarch  of  Isle  of  Ely, 

86,87 
Burial-places  used  as  dwellings,  169 
Burpham,  tumulus  opened  at,  148 


Index. 


321 


Burrington    Coomb,   ancient  catacomb 

found  at.  22 
Burrow  Hill,  human  skeleton  found  at, 

135, 136 
Bury   St.    Edmunds,    skeletons    found 

near,  146 ;  skulls  and  bones  of  ani- 
mals found  at,  17,  18 

Cairns  in  Caithness,   177-181  ;  in  Ork- 
ney, 181-1S6;  in  Skye,  171-176 
Caithness,  tumuli  in,  177-181 
Calcot,  fossil  oak-tree  discovered  at,  5 
Cambridge,  mammoth's  tusk  found   at, 
18,  19  ;  human  jaw  with  teeth  found 
at,  19 
Cambridgeshire,       see      "  Fulbourn, " 
"  Haddenham  Fen,"  "  Whittlesford  " 
Camp,  British,  near  Extwistle,  166  ;   at 
Llanbadarn  Fawr,   291  ;    remains  of, 
at    Morley,  Devonshire,  266 
Campmoor,  Forfarshire,  Roman  stations 

near,  2SS 
Canoes,  ancient,  discovered,  51-57 

,  ancient  oak,  found  at  Ballylaneen, 

56,  57  ;  at  Glasgow,  55  ;  at  Lough- 
island  Ravey,  56 ;  at  Lough  Reagh,  56. 
Cardiganshire,  see  "  Llanbadarn  Fawr" 
Carlow,   kitchen    midden    found    near, 

311-313 

Carmoney,  near  Belfast,  bones  of 
animal  of  lizard  type  found,  9 

Castlefield,  near  Manchester,  ancient 
well  discovered  at,  40,  41 

Castleton,  ancient  stone  mortar  found 
at,  66 

,  the  "  houe,"  near,   170 

Castletown,  cave  at,  307,  30S 

Castlewelian,  oak  canoes  found  near,  56 

Cat-stane,  near  Edinburgh,  191,   192 

Catacomb,  ancient,  found  in  cavern 
near  Stanton-Drew,  22,  23 

Catigern,  tradition  of,  134 

Cats,  jaw  of,  found  at  Standlake,  Ox- 
fordshire, 301  ;  bones  of,  observed  in 
tumulus  near  Lewes,  148 

Cattle,  Irish  wild,  9 

,  enclosure,  early,  at  Danby  Moor, 

208 

Cave,  discovery  of,  at  Castletown,  307  ; 
at  Paxton,  306 ;  in  Skye,  175,  176; 
at  Slaines,  306 

,  burial  in  Argyleshire,  190 

remains,  22-36,  306-30S 

Caves  near  Laugharne,  discoveries  in, 

193-195 

,  Irish,  discoveries  during  excava- 
tion, 295 
VOL.    V. 


Cemeteries  (British)  at  Standlake,  Ox- 
fordshire, 302 

Celts  found  near  Clayton  Windmill, 
Sussex,  64 ;  in  cave  at  Poltalloch, 
33,  34  ;  in  fossil  tree,  6 

,    bronze    found    near     Abingdon, 

75  ;  at  Attleborough,  74  ;  at  Chur- 
well,  74 ;  near  Exeter,  74 ;  near 
Hollingbury  Castle,  73,  147  ;  in 
Rayne,  Essex,  74  ;  at  Sittingbourne, 

74 
-,   flint,   found  near  St.   Andrew's, 


64  ;  in  Wolfardisworthy,   Devon,  63, 
-,  unique,  exhibited,  70 


Celtic  remains  in  Orkney,    181-185  ;  in 

Yorkshire,  201-263 
Chalbuiy,   Dorsetshire,  barrow  opened 

on,  108 
Chalk,  cofiin  hewn  out  of,  discovered  at 

Winchester,  131 
Chambers  found  in  tumuli  on  Royston 

Heath,  124 

,  earthen,  in  Ireland,  292 

,  stone,  in  Irish  tumuli,    294 ;   in 

Irish  caves,  295 
,  walled,  in  a  mound  in  Cornwall, 


91 

Chateris  (I.  of  Ely),  antiquities  found 
in,  86-88 

Chelsea,  human  and  extinct  animal 
bones  discovered  on  site  of  King 
James's  College,  19,  20 

Chesters,  Celtic  remains  at,  289 

Cheviot  Hills,  district  of,  hut  circles  in, 
288,  289 

Chichester,  remains  of  British  villages- 
near,  272 

Children,  bones  of,  discovered  in  tumu- 
lus at  Nympsfield,  131  ;  in  cairn  in 
Orkney,  184;  in  tumulus,  146 

Churwell,  bronze  weapons  found  at,  74 

Circles,  stone,  at  Coldrun,  Kent,   113 

destroyed  in  Cornwall,  90 

discovered  in  Extwistle,  166 

in  Ireland,  293,  294 

at  Standlake,  near  Witney,  301 

at  Vvinterburn  Abbey,  98 

— —  in  North  Yorkshire,  202 

enclosing  tumulus,  211,   221,  223, 

228,  237 

Cist,  stone,  found  in  tumulus  at  Cleve- 
land, 255  ;  in  Dorsetshire  barrow, 
105,  106,  109,  127  ;  in  Gloucester- 
shire barrow,  129,  130  ;  in  tumulus  at 
Lymington,  132  ;  in  cairn  in  North- 
umberland, 264 

21 


322 


Index. 


Cist,  wooden,  found  in  Yorkshire  tu- 
muli, Ii8 

Clayton  Windmill,  Sussex,  celts  found 
near,  64 

Cleveland  district  of  Yorkshire,  grave- 
diggings  in,  201-263 

,  houes  in,  168,   170 

Cleveland,  Celtic  refuse-heap  dis- 
covered at,  241-246  ;  tumulus  opened 
at,  165,  246-251,  258 

,  word  "dess"  used  in,  170 

Cliff,  urn  discovered  in,  at  Dunwich, 
146 ;  in  Isle  of  Wight,  133 

Clyde,  ancient  canoe  found  in  bed  of, 

55 
Coffins,  oak,  found  in  tumuli  in  \  ork- 

shire,  81 -86 
,  stone,  discovered  in  Mid-Cakler, 

165,  166 ;    at  Notting  Hill,   137  ;    at 

Kegworth,  134,  135 
Coins    found   in    cave   in   Argyleshire, 

190  ;  at  Chelsea,  20  ;  in  Dorsetshire, 

102 ;  at   Laceby,    Lincolnshire,   280 ; 

in  cave  in  Wales,  193,  195  ;  in  buried 

ship,  52 
Coldrum,  Kent,  stone  circle  at,  113 
Cole  Pits,  excavations  called,  in  Somer- 
setshire, 283 
College,  King  James's,  at  Chelsea,  site 

of,  discovered,  19,  20 
Colleonard,  urn  found  near,  containing 

axe-blades,  76 
Collier  (Charles),   on  fraudulent  manu- 
facture of  flint  implements,  76,  77 
Conquer  Down,  Cornwall,  urn  found  in 

barrow  on,  92,  93 
Constantine,     Cornwall,     Tolmen     at, 

268 
Copeland  Castle,  flint  arrow-head  found 

at,  65 
Copgrove,     Yorkshire,     entrenchments 

at,  284 
Copper,    pieces   of,    found   in  tumulus 

near  Sterling,  168 
Cork,  tumuli  in,  291-296 
Corn,  ear  of,   found  in  British  tumulus 

at  Warminster,  302 
Cornwall,  barrows  in,  90-94,   see  "  Bos- 

phrennis,"  "  Constantine,"  "  Pelynt," 

"  Penzance  " 
Cremation,  or  burnt  human  bones,    see 

"Urns" 
Crocker  (A.),  on    Cole  and   Pen    pits, 

Somersetshire,  283,  284 
Crocodile,  fossil,  discovered  near  Cuck- 

field,  14;  at  Kingsholm,  13;  in  Til- 
gate  Forest,  14 


Crocodile,  bones  of,  found  at  North- 
wood,  20,  21 

Croken  Tor,  Devon,  Stannary  Courts 
held  at,  284 

Cromlechs  at  Addington  Park,  Kent, 
111-113 

,  construction  of,  150 

Crosby  Garrot,  tumulus  opened  at,  148, 

149  .  . 

Crosses,  antique,  in  Cleveland  district, 
238 

Cruciform  mound  at  Margam,  Glamor- 
ganshire, 272 ;  St.  Margaret's  Park, 
Herefordshire,  269,  270 

Cuckfield,  Sussex,  remains  of  croco- 
dile found  near,  14,   15 

Cumberland,  Pict-holes  in,  169 

,  stone  war   implement    found  in, 

59,  60 

Cup,  British,  70 ;  Saxon,  found  in 
tumulus,  70 

,  drinking,    found    near  Abingdon, 

75  ;  in  Dorsetshire  barrows,  125 ;  in 
Yorkshire  tumulus,  120 

Cups,  incense,  found  in  Cleveland  tu- 
miulus,  261  ;  in  Dorsetshire  barrow, 
105 

Cuttle-fish,  bones  of,  found  in  cave  in 
Somersetshire,  28 

Dagger,  bronze,  discovered  in  tumuli 
in  Cleveland,  82,  226 

Dalton,  Yorkshire,  skeletons  found  in 
tumulus  at,  116 

Danby,  Shunner  Houe,  near,  168,  170 

Danby  North  Moors,  early  encampments 
on,  204,  207-209 

site    of    Celtic    flint    implement 

factories  discovered  on,  66-69 

Danes,  tradition  of  burial-place  of,  near 
Stackhouse,    153 

Danish  barrows,  objects  found  in,  98 

Deal,  barrow  opened  at,  275,  276 

Deer,  bones  of,  found  in  tumuli  at 
Banwell,  27  ;  in  Caithness,  181  ;  at 
Standlake,  Oxfordshire,  301,  303 ; 
in  Yorkshire  tumuli,  243,  256 ;  in 
Yorkshire  cave,  25 

,  horns  and  skulls  of,  found  in  Irish 

tumuli,  293 

,  horns  of  prehistoric,  found,  13 

,  red,  tine  of,  found  in  York- 
shire tumulus,  121  ;  teeth  of,  found 
in  Yorkshire  tumulus,  121  ;  horn 
of,  found  in  huts  on  Cheviot  Hills, 
289  ;  in  Yorkshire  barrows,  115 

Denbighshire,  see  "Vale  Crucis  Abbey" 


Index. 


323 


Derbyshire,  5^^ "  Brimington,"  "Castle- 
town," "  Wirksvvorth  " 

"Dess,"  word  used  in  Cleveland,  170 

Deverill  Barrow,  Dorset,  opening  of, 
124,  125 

Devil,  legend  of  the,  152 

"Devil's  Jumps,"  stone  called,  Surrey, 
269 

"  Devil's  Night-cap,"  stone  called,  Dor- 
setshire, 267 

Devonshire,  hyena  dens  found  in,  28  ; 
jdrf"Blackdon  Hills,"  "Croken  Tor," 
"  Ilfracombe,"  "  Morley,"  "South 
Tawton,"  "  Wolfardisworthy  " 

Diluvian  remains  found  at  Oxford,  3,  4 

"Disiadr,"  meaning  of  the  word,  170 

Dogs,  Irish  wolf,  8,  9 

,  bones  of,  found  in  Carlow,  311  ; 

in  cairn  in  Orkney,  1S5  ;  at  Stand- 
lake,  Oxfordshire,  301-303 

,  skeleton  of,  found  in  Dorsetshire 

barrow,  107 

Dorsetshire  antiquities  similar  to  those 
of  Sussex,  96,  97 

,  barrows  in,  98-104 

,  place  names  of,  98 

,    see    "  Aggleston,"     "  Bridport," 

"Chalbury,"  "Deverill,"  "Ham- 
bury  Taut,"  "Hod  Hill,"  "  Lul- 
worth,"  "  Muckleford,"  "Osmington 
Down,"  "  Piddlehinton,"  "  Poxwell 
Down,"  "Purbeck,  Isle  of,"  "Ship- 
ton  Hill,"  "Swanage,"  "  Upway 
Downs,"  "Wareham,"  "  Winford 
Eagle,"  "Winterburn  Abbey" 

Down,  Ireland,  buried  house  found  in 
bog,  297 

Doyle  (G. ),  on  ancient  oak  paddle  found 
at  Shaftesbury,  51 

Driffield  (Gt.  )>  tumulus  opened  near,  83 

Dublin,  tumulus  in  Phoenix  Park, 
opened,  196 

Duggleby  Wold,  Yorkshire,  excavation 
of  tumulus  on,  118,119 

Dumfriesshire,  moot  hills  in,  285 

Dundugan  Fort,  Louth,  296 

Dung  of  the  hyena  found  in  Yorkshire 
cave,  25 

Dunipace,  Stirlingshire,  "hill  of  judg- 
ment "  at,  286 

Duntesbourne  Abbots,  Gloucestershire, 
129,  130 

Dunwich,  urn  discovered  in  cliff  at,  146 

Durham,  see  "Seeham  Dene" 

Dwelling-place,  British,  found  in  Berks, 
26  ;  in  caves,  22 

,  burial-places  used  as,  169 


of  early   inhabitants  of  Ireland, 

291-296 

Eaglesfield     peat     moss,    skeleton    of 

horse  found  in,  310 
Earthen    chamber    found    in    Ireland, 

292 
pitcher  found  near  Fulbourn,  74 

Earthworks  at  St.  Margaret's  Park, 
Herefordshire,  269,270 ;  in  Ireland, 
291-296;  at  Laceby,  Lincolnshire, 
279 ;  at  Oldberry,  Kent,  274 ;  at 
Pontneddfychan,  289,  290 ;  at  Wal- 
bury,  Essex,  273-275  ;  see  "  Encamp- 
ments " 

Edinburgh,  the  cat-stane  near,  191,  192 

Eel,  petrified,  found  in  the  Weald, 
Sussex,  21 

Egton  Grange,  early  encampments  in, 
204,  206 

Elephants'  bones,  fossil,  discovered,  11 ; 
at  Chelsea,  20 ;  at  Yarnton,  Oxford- 
shire, 302  ;  in  Yorkshire  cave,  25 ; 
in  Somersetshire,  28 

tooth,   fossil,  discovered,  13;   at 

Oxford,  3 

,  tusk    of,    found   near   Hornsea, 

13,  14;  near  Bridlington,  14 

— —  tusks  and  bones  of,  discovered  at 
Ilford,  17 

Elgin,  see  "  Loch  of  Spynie  " 

Elk,  bones  of,  found  in  cave  at  Ban- 
well,  27 

horns,  found  at  Chelsea,  20  ;   at 

Leeds,   19 ;    in   well  near  Whittles- 
ford,  88 

Irish,  remains  of,  in  Ireland,  6 


Elm-trees  excavated  in  Westminster, 
39.40 

Ely  (Isle  of),  antiquities  found  in  the, 
86-88 

Encampments  discovered  in  Cleveland 
district,  204,  215,  216,  217  ;  at  Knap- 
toft,  Leicestershire,  276-281  ;  at 
Market  Bosworth,  276 ;  at  Marston 
Trussel,  Northamptonshire,  281,  282  ; 
in  New  Forest,  132  ;  on  Yorkshire 
Wold,  65  ;  see  "  Earthworks  " 

Essex,  Borough  Hills  tumuli,  129 

,^tv"Harwich,"  "Ilford,"  "Rayne," 

"Romford,"  "Tilbury,"  "Walbury" 

Exhibition  of  archaeological  objects  at 
York,  70,  71 

Extwistle,  tumulus  found  in,  166 

Factories, Celtic  flint  implement,  site  of, 
discovered,  66-69 

21  —  2 


324 


Index. 


Fairies,  dwelling  of,  in  Scottish  hills,  287 

Fairy  Toote,  tunaulus  known  as, 
140;  311 

Faulkner  (Thos.),  on  discoveries  at 
Netting  Hill,  137 

Ferns,  fossil  tropical,  found  near  Scar- 
borough, 5 

Fesmond,  tumulus  discovered  at,  139 

Fibulse,  bronze,  Roman,  found  near 
Abingdon,  75 

Filey,  tumulus  opened  near,  161 -165 

Fish,  remains  of,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  181  ;  in  Cairn  in  Orkney, 
186 

fossil,  found  in  the  Weald,  Sus- 
sex, 21 

teeth,  fossil,  found  near  New- 
market, II,   12 

Flesh,  petrified  human,  found,  10 

Flint  arrow-heads  found  near  Abingdon, 
75  ;  in  tumulus  in  Berwick,  191  ;  in 
tumuli  in  Cleveland,  213,  226,  229, 
237  ;  in  Gristhorpe  tumulus,  157  ;  in 
Northumberland,  65 ;  in  tumulus 
near  Scarborough,  161 ;  on  York- 
shire Wolds,  65  ;  in  tumuli  in  York- 
shire, 202 

celt,  found  in  fossil  tree,  6 ;  in 

Carlow,  312 

chips,  discovered  in  tumuli  in  Banff- 
shire, 190 ;  in  tumuli  in  Caithness, 
178  ;  in  tumuli  in  Cleveland,  213, 
262  ;  in  tumulus  at  Nympsfield,  131  ; 
in  cave  at  Poltalloch,  33,  34 ;  in  York- 
shire tumulus,  120 

implements,  discovered  in  tumuli 

in  Cleveland  district,  213,  215,  220, 
248,  249,  250,  252,  261,  262 ;  in  Dor- 
setshire tumuli,  125 ;  in  Yorkshire 
tumuli,  118,  119,  121,  122 

implement  factories,  site  of,  dis- 
covered, 66-69 

implements,  fraudulent  manufac- 
ture of,  76,  77,  309 
■javelin  heads,  discovered  in  tumuli 


in  Cleveland  district,  215 

knife,    discovered   in    tumuli    in 


Cleveland  district,  229 
objects,  found  inYorkshire  tumulus, 

82 
spear-head,  found  in  Gristhorpe 

tumulus,  157 
thumb,    discovered   in   tumuli    in 

the  Cleveland  district,  220 

weapons,  exhibited  at  York,  70,  71 


Flint  core  found  in  Irish  caves,  295 
Flints  discovered  in  tumulus   at  Ald- 


friston,  311  ;  in  Dorsetshire  barrow, 
127  ;  at  Yevering,  313 
Flints  for  procuring  fire,  found  in  cave, 

23.  33 
,  coloured,  found  in  caves  in  Devon, 

30 

survivals  of  primitive  use  of,  305 

Flower's  barrow  at  Lulworth,  Dorset, 

100 
Folkestone,    petrified    human    remains 

found,  10 
Forest,    remains  of,  on    Danby  Moor, 

209,210;  in  North  Yorkshire,  203 
,  submarine,  on  coast  of  Norfolk, 

5,  6 

,  subterranean,  discovered  at  Stock- 
ton, 40 

Forfarshire,  gallery  of  stones  in,  288 

Forgeries  of  archaeological  objects,  70 

of  flint  implements,  76,  77 

Fossil  remains,  3  ;  found  in  caves  in 
Devon,  30,  31 ;  in  Yorkshire  tumulus, 
256 

fish,  found  in  the  Weald,  Sussex, 

21 

French  invasion  under  Napoleon,  inci- 
dent of,  135,   136 

Frensham,  Surrey,  stone  called  Devil's 
Jumps  at,  269 

Fulbourn,  Cambridgeshire,  bronze  bat- 
tle-axe found  near,  73 

Funeral  ceremonies  of  ancient  British 
inhabitants,  303,  304 

"  Gallow  Houe,"  tumulus  called,  66, 

212 
Ganton  Hall,  Yorkshire,  excavation  of 

barrow  at,  117 
Gardham,  near  Beverley,  York,  tumuli 

at,  114 
Garrane,  Ireland,  stone  circle  at,  294 
Garthorpe,   stones   said   to   be  "  hand- 
mills  "  found  at,  71 
Geologic   and    prehistoric   remains,    3- 

36 
Gilpin  (G.),  on  earth  mounds  at  Pont- 

neddfychan,  289 
Glamorganshire, j'(?i:f"Margam,"  *'Pont- 

neddfychan  " 
Glasgow,  ancient  boats  discovered  at, 

54,55 
Glass  beads  discovered  at  Northwold, 

139 
ornaments,    found     in    huts    on 

Cheviot  Hills,  289 
Gloucestershire,  see  "Bristol,"  "Duntes- 

bournes-Abbot,"  "  Horton,"  "Kings- 


Index. 


325 


holm,"  "Litfield,"  "  Nympsfield  " 
"  Sherborne  " 

Goathland  Moors,  early  encampment 
in,  204,  206 

Goats,  bones  of,  found  in  Carlow,  311  ; 
with  human  skeleton,  at  Wood  Bal- 
ling, 138 

Gold  lace  found  in  barrow  at  Wareham, 

95  ... 

ornaments  found  in  cave  in  Ire- 
land, 35,  36 

Greenlaw,  hill  called,  in  Cheviot  dis- 
trict, 289 

Greenwell  (W.),  on  flint  arrow-heads 
found  in  Northumberland,  65 

Grimsby,  cemetery  discovered  near,  136, 

137 

Gristhorpe,  tumulus  opened  near,  81,  82, 

154-161,  163-165 
Guernsey,  cromlech  in,  112 
Guisborough   Moors,    tumulus    opened 

on,  254, 255 

Habitations,  Celtic,  in  North  Yorkshire, 

202 
Haco,  King  of  Norway,  tradition  as  to 

burial  of  Queen  of,    173 
Haddenham    Fen,   I,    of   Ely,   ancient 

canoe  found  in,  53 
Hair,    human,    supposed    remains    of, 

found  in  Cleveland  district,  241 
Halifax,  handmill  or   quern,  discovered 

in,  72 
Haltwesel,  Northumberland,  barrow  at, 

97 

Hambury  Taut,  Dorset,  barrow,  open- 
ing of,  100,    lOI 

Hamilton  Park,  Glasgow,  Irish  wild 
cattle  preserved  at,  9 

Hammer,  stone,  found  in  tumulus  near 
Scarborough,  162 

Hamper  (W. ),  on  celts  found  near  Clay- 
ton Windmill,  64 

Hampshire,  see  "  Boffington,"  "Isle 
of  Wight,"  "New  Forest,"  "Win- 
chester " 

Hand-mill  found  at  Garthorpe,  71  ;  at 
Hahfax,  72 

Harwich,  skeleton  of  large  animal  dis- 
covered near,  12 

Hauxley,  Northumberland,  flint  arrow- 
head found  at,  65 

Haven,  name  of  sewer  at  New  Romney, 

52,   53 
"  Helen's  Pavement,"  Roman  causeway 

called,  Glamorganshire,  290 
Helmet  found  at  Biggleswade,   123 


Hereford,  bronze  arrow-head  found 
near,  58 

Herefordshire,  see  "  St.  Margaret's 
Park,"  "St.  W^eonards" 

Hertfordshire,  see  "  Royston  " 

Hide,  animal's,  skeleton  wrapped  in,  at 
Gristhorpe,  154,   156,  159 

Highlands,  houses  in,  273 

Hill  fortresses,  British,  near  Weston- 
super-Mare,  263-265 

Hills,  sacredness  of,  in  Scotland,  2S7 

Hippopotamus,  bones  of,  found  in 
Yorkshire  cave,  25 

Historic  remains,  early,  39-77 

Hoare  (Sir  R.  C),  opening  of  a  barrow 
at  Nettleton,  149-151 

Hod  Hill,  Dorsetshire,  earthwork  called, 
274 

Hog,  bones  of,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  181  ;  in  tumulus  near 
Lewes,  148 

,  tusk  of,  found  in  tumulus  near 

Stackhouse,  153 

Hogg  (J.),  on  flint  arrow-head  found  in 
Northumberland,  65 

Hollingbury  Castle,  bronze  implements 
found  near,  73 ;  flint  implements 
found  at,  147 

Horsa,  tradition  of,  134 

Horse,  bones  of,  found  at  Boughton, 
16  ;  in  tumuli  in  Caithness,  181  ;  in 
Carlow,  3 12  J  in  Yorkshire  tumuli,  256 

,  skeletons  of,  found  at  Biggles- 
wade, 123,  310 

Horseshoe-shaped  camps  on  Berwick 
Hill,  Northumberland,  263 

Horton,  Gloucestershire,  opening  of 
barrow  in,  130 

Houes  or  howes,  168-171 

— - — in  the  Cleveland  district,  211-241 

House,  buried  stone,  found  in  Ireland, 
296 

Houses  in  the  Highlands,  273 

Human  jaw  with  teeth  found  at  Cam- 
bridge, 19 

remains,  petrified,  found  at  Folke- 
stone, 10 

remains  discovered,  see  "  Bones," 

"Skeletons" 

Husband's  Bosworth,  encampment  at, 
278 

Hut  circles  in  Cheviot  district,  288,289  > 
on  Berwick  Hill,  Northumberland, 
263 ;  Linhope,  264 ;  Yevering  Bell, 
264 

Huts,  stone,  on  hills  in  Cheviot  district, 
2S9 


326 


htdex. 


Hutchins  (J.),  opening  of  King  Barrow 

at  \Yareham,  94,  95 
Hyrenas,  bones  of,  found   at  Boughton 

Hall,    Maidstone,   15,  16 ;  found    at 

Chelsea,  20 
dens   found  in   Devonshire,    28 ; 

in  Yorkshire,  24-26 

Iceland  Domhring,  hills  of  justice,  287 

,  legends  of,  169 

Iguanodon,  fossil  remains  of,  found  near 
Cuckfield,  14,  15  ;  in  Tilgate  Forest, 

14 

Ilfracombe,  British  hill  fortress  at, 
265 

Ilford,  Essex,  skeleton  of  mammoth 
found  at,  16,  17  ;  tusks  of  elephant 
found  at,  17 

Implements,  bone,  found  in  York,  64 

,  flint,  discovered,  66-69  5  '^'^  New- 
ton Mulgrave,  68,  69 

,  flint,  site  of  factories  discovered, 

66-69 

flint  and  stone,  57-72 

,  stone,  found  in  Cumberland,  59, 

60  ;  at  Brimington,  59,  60 ;  in  For- 
farshire, 62,  63 

,    war,    found   in   ancient   canoes. 

Incense-cups  found  in  Cleveland  tumu- 
lus, 261 

Ingram  Hill,  Celtic  remains  at,  289 

Inhabitants,  aboriginal,  of  Ireland,  291- 
296 

Instrument,  ancient  brass,  found  in 
cavern  near  Stanton  Drew,  22 

Interments  in  tumuli  at  Cleveland,  241- 
263 

Intrenchments,  see  "  Encampment " 

Irby  Holme,  Lincolnshire,  hiding-place 
at,  281 

Ireland,  caves  in,  35,  36 

,  extinct  animals  of,  6-9 

,  remains  of  aboriginal  inhabitants 

of,  291-296 
-,  sepulchral  antiquities   discovered 


in,  196,  197 

,  see  "Blarney,"  "Carlow,"  "Dub- 
lin," "Louth" 

Iron  nails,  found  in  tumuli  in  Kentish 
barrow,  275  ;  at  Whittlesford,  89 

objects,    discovered    in    tumulus 

near  Market  Weighton,  202 

ore,  found  in  Cleveland  tumulus. 


262 


spear,  found  with  skeleton  at  Bur- 


row Hill,  135 


Iron  spikes  found  in  tumulus  at  Ald- 
friston,  311 

sword,  etc.,  discovered  in  tumu- 
lus at  Burpham,  148 

Isle  of  Wight,  Brixton,  urn  discovered 
at,  133 

Ivory,  circular  piece  of,  found  in  tumu- 
lus near  Stackhouse,  153 

"Jardhus,"    Iceland   word   for  under- 
ground house,  169,  170 
Javelin-heads,  bronze,  found   at  Chur- 

well,  74 
,   flint,  discovered,   69 ;   in  tumuli 

in  Cleveland  district,  215  ;  in  Y'ork- 

shire  tumulus,  118 
Jenkins  (Thos.),  on  ancient  cruciform 

mound  in  Hereford,  269-273 
Jessop  (C.   M.),  on  Celtic  remains  in 

Kent,  111-114 
Jet   beads,   discovered   in   tumulus    in 

Cleveland  district,  233 

Kegworth,  human  skeletons  found  at, 
,134,  135 

Kells,  oaken  enclosure  discovered  for 
entrapping  elks,  7 

Kent,  Celtic  remains  in,  111-114 

,  downs  of,  remains  on  the,  275, 

276 

,  see  "Addington  Park,"  "Cold- 
rum,"  "  Deal,"  "  Folkestone,"  "Kits 
Conti  House,"  "Maidstone,"  "New- 
ington,"^^  "  Oldberry,"  "  Sitting- 
bourne,"  "Trosley" 

Kerry,  last  wolf  in  Ireland  killed  in,  8 

Kibworth  liarcourt,  tumulus  opened  at, 
136 

Kilbarry,    oak    tank    discovered    near, 

Kilcullen,  skeleton  of  Irish  elk  dug  up 

near,  7 
"  Killing-pits,"  encampment   so   called 

at  Goathland,  206 
Kingsholm,  Gloucester,  fossil  elephant's 

tooth  found   at,  13;   fossil  crocodile 

found  at,  13 
Kirk  of  Lintrathen,  hut  circles  at,  264 
Kirkcudbright,  moot  hill  at  Urr,  285 
Kirkdale,    Yorkshire,    cave   discovered 

near,  24-26 
Kirkmichael,  Strathardle,  hut  circles  at, 

264 
Kirmond,  Lincolnshire,  beacon  at,  279 
Kistvaen,  construction  of,  150 
Kitchen    refuse   heap    discovered   near 

Carlow,   311-313;  in  Cleveland  dis- 


Index. 


\2J 


trict,  241-246;  in  cave  in  Scotland, 

34 
Kits  Conti  House,  tumulus  found  near, 

133.  134 
Knaptoft,    Leicestershire,  encampment 

at,  276-281 
Knives  found  in  tumuli  at  Aldfriston, 

,  bronze,  discovered  in  tumulus  in 

Aberdeenshire,  189;  in  tumulus  at 
Cleveland,  255 ;  in  Yorkshire  tu- 
muli, 119,  122 

Kyloe,  flint  arrovyr-head  found  at,  65 

Laceby,  Lincolnshire,  earthwork  at,  279 
Lake   settlement,    supposed,   found   in 

Cleveland  district,  246 
Lanarkshire,  tumulus  discovered  in,  191 
Lancashire,  see  "  Manchester  " 
L'Ancresse,  Guernsey,  cromlech  in,  112 
Lands,  municipal,  at  Scarborough,  161 
Langton  Wold,  Malton,  tumulus  opened 

on,  117 
Lark  River,  ancient  British  sword  found 

in,  73 
Laskey  (John),  on  camp  in  Devonshire, 
266 ;  on  stone  celt  found  in  Wolfar- 
disworthy,  63,  64 
Laws  (Duns)  of  Scotland,  284-288 
Lead,  antique  pig  of,  found  at  Boffing- 

ton,  61 
Leeds,  elk's  horn  found  at,  19 
Leicestershire,  Jt-^"  Burrow  Hill,""Gar- 
thorpe,"     "Husband's     Bosworth," 
"  Kegworth,"  "  Kibworth,"  "  Knap- 
toft," "  Market  Bosworth  " 
Lemming,  bones  of,  found  in  tumuli  at 

WTiittlesford,  89 
Lewes,  tumulus  opened  near,  147,  148 
Limpet,  remains  of,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  181 ;  in  Channel  Islands, 

30s 

Lincolnshire,  submarine  forest  on  coast 
of,  5,  6 

Lincolnshire,  see  "  Brigg,"  "Grimsby," 
"Irby  Holme,"  "  Kirmond,"  "Lace- 
by," "  Ranby,"  "  South  Willingham," 
"Welbeck  Hill,"  " Welbeck  Spring," 
"Wold  Newton" 

Linhope,  Northumberland,  British  vil- 
lage at,  264;  hut  dwellings  and  cir- 
cles at,  282 

Litfield  Place,  Gloucester,  cave  dis- 
covered at,  29 

Lizard,  bones  of  prehistoric,  found,  9 

Llanbadarn  Fawr,  British  camps  at, 
291 


Logan  (James),  on  the  laws  or  duns  of 

Scotland,  2S4-288 
'London,  see  "Chelsea,"  "Westminster" 
Loughgeel,  Antrim,  bronze  sword  found 

in,  74 
Louth,  Ireland,  Dundugan  fort  in,  296 
Lulworth,  Dorsetshire,  opening  of  bar- 
rows at,  99,  100,  127-129 
Lymington,  tumuli  discovered  at,  132 

Maces,  stone,  found  in  Britain,  60,  61 

Madagascar,  spear  from,  uniform  with 
bronze  British  celt,  75 

"  Maes-howe,"  meaning  of,  168 

Maidstone,  bones  and  teeth  of  extinct 
animals  found  at  Boughton,  15,  16; 
marine  turtle's  shell  found  near,  19 

Mammoth,  bones  of,  found  at  Motteston, 
20,  21  ;  at  Yarnton,  Oxfordshire,  302 

skeleton  of,  discovered  at  Ilford, 

16,  17 

,  tooth,  found  in  the  Trent  river, 

18 

tusk,  found  at  Cambridge,  18,  19 

Man  (Isle  of),  Tynewald  at,  284 

Manchester,  ancient  well  discovered 
near,  40,  41 

Marble,  pieces  of,  found  in  Kentish 
barrow,  275 

Margam,  Glamorganshire,  cruciform 
mound  at,  272,  316 

Market  Bosworth,  encampment  at,  276 

Market  Weighton,  tumulus  near,  202 

Marlborough,  cromlech  near,  1 51 

Marriage,  communal,  208 

Marston  Trussel  entrenchment,  North- 
ampton, 281,  282 

Marten,  bones  of,  found  at  Standlake, 
306 

Mastodon,  bones  of,  found  at  Chel- 
sea, 20 

Mayo,  sepulchral  urns  discovered  in,  196 

Meath,  Jf^  "  Kells  "_ 

Megalosaurus,  remains  of,  found  in  Til- 
gate  Forest,  14 

Megatherium,  hock -bone  of,  discovered 
near  Brigg,  21 

Merthyr  Tidfil,  bridge  called  "  Pont 
Dinas  "  at,  290 

Metal  introduced  into  Britain  by  Phoeni- 
cians, 164 

objects,  bronze,  found  in  Cleve- 
land tumulus,  258 

plate,  found  in  tumulus  at  Cleve- 
land, 256 

Meyrick  (S.  R.),  on  stone  and  flint  im- 
plements, 58 


128 


Index. 


Mice,  bones  of,   found   at    Standlake, 
Oxfordshire,  301 

Mid-Calder,  stone  coffins  found  at,  165, 
166 

Mid  Wold,  Yorkshire,  tumulus  excavated 
at,  121 

Midden,  see  "  Kitchen  " 

Middlesex,  see  "  Netting  Hill,"  "West- 
minster " 

Millstones,    handmill,    found  at  Bark- 
island,  Halifax,  72 

Milner  (Geo.),  on  stone  and  flint  imple- 
ments, 57-58 

Milner   (J.),    on    Dorsetshire   barrows, 
98-104 

Mistletoe,  remains  of,  found  in  Gris- 
thorpe  tumulus,  158 

Monaghan,  Ireland,  buried  house  dis- 
covered, 296 

Monogamous  marriage,  evidence  of,  in 
early  times,  208 

Moot  hills,  316  ;  in  Devon,  288;  Scot- 
tish, 284-2S8 

Morley,  Devonshire,  camp  remains  at, 
266 

Mortar,  ancient  stone,  found  near  Cas- 
tleton,  65,  66 

Motteston,  Isle  of  Wight,  bones  of 
mammoth  found  at,  20-21 

Mounsey  (W.),  on  discovery  of  hand- 
mill  at  Garthorpe,  71 

Muckleford,  Dorsetshire,  opening  of 
barrow  at,  125 

Munford  (G.)>  on  submarine  forests  on 
Norfolk  coast,  5,  6. 

Municipal  lands  at  Scarborough,  161 

Nails  found  in  ancient  boat  discovered 
at  Glasgow,  54  ;  iron,  found  in 
Kentish  barrow,  275 

Names  of  localities  in  Skye,  174,  175 

Napoleon,  invasion  of  Britain  by,  inci- 
dents of,  135,  136 

Naval  power  of  the  ancient  Britons,  43- 

Needle,  bone,  discovered  in  tumulus  in 

Cleveland,  248 
Nethermuir,    Aberdeen,    ancient    boat 

found  at,  56 
Nettleton,  tumulus  opened  at,  149-151 
New    Forest,     tumuli    discovered    in, 

132 
Newcastle,  stone  coffin  found  at,  139 
Newington,  human  skeleton  found  at, 

133 
Newmarket,    fossil    remains   of  marine 
animals  found  near,  11,  12 


Newton    Mulgrave,    flint     implements 

found  at,  68,  69 
Norfolk,  submarine  forests  on  coast  of, 

5,6 
Norfolk,  see  "  Attleborough,"  "  North - 

wold,"  "Wood  Dalling" 
Norham,  flint  arrow-head   found  near, 

Normanby,  discovery  of  kitchen  refuse 

heap  at,  241,  246 
Norries  Law,  excavations  in,  186 
North       Charlton,       Northumberland, 

British  village  at,  282 
North  Shields,  oak  pier  discovered  near, 

42 
North  Stoke,  ancient  boat  found  at,  54 
Northampton,  see  "  Marston  Trussel  " 
Northumberland,  British  villages  in,  282 

,  flint  arrow-heads  found  in,  65 

Northumberland,  Jd'g  "  Ancroft,"  "Be- 
wick," "Broughlow,"  "Chesters," 
"Copeland,"  "Fesmond,''  « Halt- 
wesel,"  "  Hauxley,"  "  Ingram  Hill," 
"Kyloe,"  "Linhope,"  "Newcastle," 
"Norham,"  "  Tyneside  " 
Northwold,  urns  discovered  at,  138,139 
North  wood   (I.    of    W^ight),    bones    of 

crocodile  found  at,  20,  21 
Notes,  301-316 

Notting  Hill,  stone  coffin  found  at,  137 
Nottingham,  cave  remains  near,  22 

,  mammoth's  tooth  found  in  river 

Trent,  near,  18 
Nursery  rhyme  from  Skye,  176 
Nuts   (hedge),    fossil,    discovered   near 

Taunton,  5 
Nympsfield,     Gloucestershire,    tumulus 
discovered  at,  131 

Oak  beams  resembling  pier  found  at 
North  Shields,  42 

Oak  boats  and  canoes  discovered  at 
Ballylaneen,  56,  57  ;  at  Castlewellan, 
56 ;  at  Glasgow,  54,  55  ;  in  Loch  of 
Spynie,  55  ;  at  Loughisland  Ravey, 
56  ;  at  Lough  Reavy,  56  ;  at  Nether- 
muir, 56 ;    near    New    Romney,    52, 

53  ;  at  North  Stoke,  53,  54  ;  at  Perth, 

54  ;  at  Worthing,  54 

paddle  found  at  Shaftesbury,  51, 

52 


timber  found  at  Buildwas,  39 

—  trees,  excavation  of,  at  Stockton, 
40 ;  in  the  Clyde  at  Thankerton- 
bridge,  39 

—  tree  coffin  found  in  Gristhorpe 
tumulus,  155-158;   in  King  Barrow, 


Index. 


129 


Warehnm,  94,  95  ;  in  tumuli,  York- 
shire, 81-86 

Oak  tree,  fossil,  discovered,  4  ;  at  Cal- 
cot,  5  ;  at  Wilton  Prison,  near  Taun- 
ton, 5 

,  embedded  roots  and  stumps   of, 

found  in  Aberdeen,  56;  Lough  Reavy, 

56 

Oak  water-tank  discovered  at  Kilbarry, 
42 

Oldberry,  near  Ightham,  Kent,  earth- 
work at,  274 

Oliver  (Geo.),  on  earthwork  at  Laceby, 
Lincolnshire,  279 

Orkney,  tumuli  in,  181 -186 

Ornamentation  on  shield  discovered  in 
Cleveland  tumulus,  258 

Ornaments  found  in  Gristhorpe  tumu- 
lus, 157,  158  ;  in  tumuli  near  Stone- 
henge,  151  ;  in  Yorkshire  tumulus,  82 

,  bronze,  found  near   HoUingbury 

Castle,  73,  147 

,  gold,  found  in  cave   in    Ireland, 

35.  36  .       , 

Ornaments,  greenstone,  found  m  Skye, 

175 

Osmington  Down,  Dorsetshire,  barrow 

opened  on,  108 

Ovens,  Ireland,  caves  at,  295 

Owen  (W.)  on  British  camps  at  Llan- 
badarn  Fawr,  291 

Ox,  bones  of,  found  in  tumulus  near 
Bath,  141  ;  at  Boughton,  near  Maid- 
stone, 16  ;  in  tumuli  in  Caithness, 
181;  in  Carlo w,  311;  in  Cleveland 
district,  243  ;  at  Standlake,  Oxford- 
shire, 301,  303,  304;  with  human 
skeleton,  at  Wood  Dalling,    137-139 

Oxford,  diluvian  remains  discovered  at, 

3.4 
Oxfordshire,  J^^  "Standlake,"  "\arn- 

ton" 
Oysters,  fossil,  found  at  Oxford,  3 

Paddle,  ancient  oak,  discovered,  51,  52 
Parker  (John),  a  tumulus  digger,  149 
Pavement    of    flints    and    stones    dis- 
covered, 61 

of  pebbles  found   in   tumulus   at 

Ivib  worth,   136 
of  stones  in  tumulus  at  Nettleton, 

of  tiles  in  tumulus  near  Swinton, 


166,  167 

Pelynt,  opening  of  barrow  at,  94 
Pen  Pits,  excavations  called,  in  Somer- 
setshire, 283,  316 


Penzance,  Cornwall,  barrow  at,  91 
Periwinkle,  remains  of,  found  in  tumuli 

in  Caithness,  181 
Perth,  ancient  boat  discovered  at,  54 
Perthshire,  tumuli  discovered  in,  192, 

193  .    .        ^ 

Phcenician  influence  on  Britam,  I04 

Picts'  houses,  168-171 

Piddlehinton  Down,  Dorset,  opening  of 
barrow  at,  126 

Pight-houses,  or  Pict-houes,  169 

Pigs,  bones  of,  discovered  in  Carlow, 
311;  in  Cleveland  district,  243;  in 
Kentish  barrow,  275  ;  in  tumulus  at 
Nympsfield,  131 

Pin  found  in  Dorsetshire  barrow,  126 

Pins,  bone,  discovered  in  Carlow,  312 ; 
in  tumulus  in  Cleveland,  248 ;  in 
York,  64 

Pipering  Barrow,  name  of  tumulus  at 
Burpham,  148 

Pits,  collection  of,  at  Danby  North 
Moors,  205,  206,  207 

Place  names,  "stang"  as  a  prefix  in,  170, 
224 

Plate,  embossed  metal,  found  in  tumu- 
lus at  Cleveland,  256 

Piatt  (J.),  on  diluvian  remains  dis- 
covered at  Oxford,  34 

Pleiosaurus,  remains  of,  found  in  Til- 
gate  Forest,  14  ;  near  Whitby,   19 

Polecat,  bones  of,  found  in  caves  in 
Somersetshire,  28 

Poltallock,  cave  discovered  at,  33,  34 

Pontneddfychan,  earth  mounds  at,  289, 
290 

Poste  (B.),  on  the  naval  power  of  the 
ancient  Brttons,  43-51 

Potsherds  found  in  Yorkshire  tumuli, 
119,  121,  122 

Pottery  found  in  tumulus  in  Caithness, 
177,  178;  in  Cleveland  district,  241- 
243,  249,  260  ;  in  tumulus  near  Grims- 
t'y.  137  ;  in  tumulus  at  Nympsfield, 
131  ;  in  tumulus  near  Scarborough, 
161,  162,  163,  164;  in  circular  pits 
at  Standlake,  Oxfordshire,  302  ; 
near  Swinton,  167  ;  at  Yarnton, 
Oxfordshire,  303  ;  at  Yevering,  313  ; 
in  Yorkshire  tumuli,  121 

,  fragments  of,  found  near  Abing- 
don, 76  ;  in  mound  in  Herefordshire, 
271  ;  at  Weston-super-Mare,  143 

,  ancient  British,  found  in  Dorset- 
shire barrows,  loi,  102,  105,  106,   107 
Anglo-Saxon,  in  Cleveland,  221  ; 


at  Yarnton,  305 


330 


Index. 


Pottery,  Roman,  found  at  Wood  Bailing, 

138 

Poxwell  Down,  Dorsetshire,  barrow 
opened  on,  109 

Prehistoric  remains,  3-36 

**  Puckstone,"  barrow  called,  Dorset- 
shire, 268 

Purbeck  (Isle  of),  barrow  in,  97,  98 

Querns  found  in  Carlow,  312;  in  huts 
on  Cheviot  Hills,  289  ;  in  Cleveland 
district,  244,  245  ;  in  Kentish  barrow, 
276  ;  in  cave  in  Skye,  176 

Rabbit,  bones  of,  found  in  tumuli  in 

Caithness,  181 
Ranby,  Lincolnshire,  beacon  at,  279 
Rat  (water),  bones  of,  found  at  Stand- 
lake,  306 
Rayne,  Essex,   bronze  weapons  found 

at,  74 
Reading,  alluvial  remains  at,  4 
Reavy,  Lough,  oak  canoes  found  in,  56 
Reed  arrows  used  by  ancient  Britons, 

58 
"  Ref-holes,"  encampment  so  called  at 

Westerdale,  206 
Refuse-heap,    kitchen,      discovered    in 

Cleveland  district,  241-246 
Remains,  animal,  found  in  Dorsetshire 

barrows,  100,  107,  108,  see  "  Bones" 
,   human,    in  Dorsetshire    barrow, 

128,  see  "  Bones,"  "  Skeletons" 
Reptile,  fossil,  found,  14 
Repton    (J.    A.),  on    Borough    Hills, 

Essex,  129 
Rhinoceros,   bones  of,  found  in  caves, 

24-28  ;  near  Wirksworth,  Derbyshire, 

16  ;  Yarnton,  Oxfordshire,  302 
Rhyme,  nursery,  from  Skye,  176 
Richardson    (Chr.),   on    fossil    animal 

remains,  10,  il 
Ring,  bronze,  found  near  Abingdon,  75  ; 

at  Standlake,  Oxfordshire,  301 
Ripon,  stone  spear  found  near,  60 
"Robin  Hood's  Butt  Houe,"  tumulus 

called,  262 
Rock-hewn  grave  discovered  in  Wales, 

194,  195 

Roe,  bones  of,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  181 

Roman  Causeway  called  "  Helen's  Pave- 
ment," Glamorganshire,  290 

fibula  and  coins  found  in  Dorset- 
shire,  102 

Samian  ware  found  at  Wood  Dal- 


ling,  138 


Roman  stations,  remains  of,  in  Glamor- 
ganshire, 290 

Romford,  bones,  human,  found  at,  143 

Romney  (New),  oak  vessel  discovered 
near,  52,  53 

Rosebery  Topping,  bronze  weapons 
discovered  on,  202 

Row  (T. ),  on  stone  implement  found  in 
Brimington,  60,  61 

Royston  Heath,  excavation  of  tumuli 
on,  123,    124 

Rutland,  see  "Tinwell" 

Rutter  ( — ),on  ancient  oak  paddle  found 
at  Shaftesbury,  5I1  52 

St.  Andrew's,  flint  celt  found  near,  64 
St.     Margaret's     Park,     Herefordshire, 

cruciform  mound  at,  269 
St.  Weonard,  tumulus  at,  93 
Salmon,  petrified,  found  in  the  Weald, 

Sussex,  21 
Samian  ware  found  at  Wood  Dalling, 

138 
vSancreed,  barrow  in  parish  of,  90,  91 
Sandals    discovered     on    skeletons    at 

Winchester,  131 
Saurians,   bones  of,  found  near  Cuck- 

field,  14,  15 
Saverough,  the  knowe  of,  181-185 
Scallop-shell   found   in  cave  at  Poltal- 

loch,  33,  34 
Scandinavian  derivation  of  houe,    169- 

171 

mode  of  settlement,  224 

Scapula  of  animal  found  at  Shotover,  3 
Scarborough,  fossil  plants  found  near, 

5  ;  tumulus  opened  near,  161 -165 
Scilly,  giant's  graves  in  barrow  in  Corn- 
wall compared  to,  91 
Scone,   moot  hill  at,  286 
Scotland,  laws  or  duns  of,  284-288 

,  tumuli  in,  167-193 

,   see  "Dunipace,"  "Forfarshire," 

"Scone,"     "Slaines,"     "  Tillidron," 

"Urr,"  "Wemyss" 
Sculptured  caves,  Scottish,  34,  35 
Seaham  Dene,  Durham,  cavern  at,  27 
Seamer,  greenhoue  near,  168 
Selby,   oak-tree   coffins    found   at,   84- 

86 
Sepulchral  interments  in  Isle  of  Ely,  86- 

88 ;  curious  forms  of,  in  Yorkshire, 

81-86 
Settlement,    Scandinavian,     mode    of, 

224 

,  see  "  Encampments  " 

Shackleford,  urns  found  at,  146 


Index. 


ZZ^ 


Shaftesbury,  ancient  oak  paddle  dis- 
covered at,  51,  52 

Sheep,  bones  of,  found  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  18 1  ;  in  Carlovv,  31 1  ;  in 
Cleveland  district,  243  ;  in  Kentish 
barrow,  275  ;  near  Lewes,  148  ;  in 
cave  in  Skye,  176;  at  Standlake, 
Oxfordshire,  301-303  ;  with  human 
skeleton  at  Wood  Bailing,    138 

Shell-bed  found  in   Cleveland   district, 

243 

Shell  deposits  in  Yorkshire  tumuli,  242, 

243.  257 

,  mussel,  found  in  Irish  caves,  295 

,  stratum  of,  found  at  Reading,  4 

Shells  found  with  skeleton  in  tumulus 

in  Dublin,  196 
Sherborne,  stone  coffins  found  in,  130 
Shield,  oval,  found  at  Biggleswade,  123 
Shields  discovered  at  Northwold,  139 
Ship,  ancient  oak,  discovered  in  sewer 

near  New  Romney,  52,  53 

,  burial  with,  169 

Ships  possessed  by  the  ancient  Britons, 

45-51 

Shipton  Hill,  Dorset,  barrow  at,  97 

Shotover,  near  Oxford,  fossil  oysters 
and  animal  bones  found  at,  3 

Shrew-mouse,  bones  of  species  of,  found 
in  tumuli,  89 

Shropshire,  see  "  Buildwas,"  "Bur- 
cott"  _        _ 

Silver  relics  discovered  in  Norries  Law, 
186 

Sittingbourne,  bronze  implements  found 
at,  74 

Skea,  near  Clonmasnoise,  gold  orna- 
ments found  in  cave  near,  35,  36 

Skeletons  of  men  and  horses  found  at 
Biggleswade,  123 

of  prehistoric  animal  found  near 

Harwich,  i 

of  Irish  elk  in  Dublin  Museum,  6  ; 

dug  up  near  Kilcullen,  7 

,    human,  found   in   oak   coffin   in 

tumuli,  82-86  ;  in  tumulus  at  Ald- 
friston,  311  ;  in  tumulus  at  Bur- 
pham,  148;  at  Burrow  Hill,  135,  136  ; 
near  Bury  St.  Edmund's,  146 ;  in 
tumuli  in  Caithness,  178,  179,  180; 
near  Chateris,  Isle  of  Ely,  86-88  ;  in 
Cleveland  district  245  ;  in  tumulus 
at  Crosby  Garrot,  148,  149  ;  in  Dor- 
setshire barrow,  lOO,  lOi,  105,  106, 
108,  125;  in  tumulus  in  Dublin,  196  ; 
in  Gloucestershire  barrow,  129 ;  in 
Gristhorpe   tumulus,   154,    155,   156 ; 


in  tumulus  near  Kits  Conti  House 
133,  134;  in  tumulus  in  Lanarkshire, 
191  ;  at  Lewes,  148  ;  in  stone  coffins 
in  Mid-Calder,  166  ;  at  Newcastle, 
139  ;  at  North  Charlton,  Northumber- 
land, 282  ;  in  stone  coffin,  at  Notting 
Hill,  137  ;  in  cairn  in  Orkney,  182- 
184,  185,  186  ;  in  tumulus  near  Scar- 
borough, 161,  162  ;  in  cairn  in  Isle 
of  Skye,  172  ;  in  tumulus  near  Stack- 
house,  153  ;  in  rock  grave  in  Wales, 
194  ;  at  Weston-super-Mare,  143  ;  in 
tumuli  at  Whittlesford,  88-90 ;  at 
Winchester,  131  ;  at  Wolsonbury, 
147  ;  at  Wood  Dalling,  137-139  ;  at 
Yarnton,  Oxfordshire,  303,  304 ;  in 
Yorkshire  barrows,  1 14,  1 1 5,  117, 
118,  119,  120,  121,  122 
-,  petrified,  found  in  ancient  cata- 


comb, 22,  23 

Skelton  Moors,  Cleveland,  tumulus 
opened  on,  246-251,251-255,  256-263 

Skulls,  human,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 180  ;  in  Cat-stane  tumulus,  192  ; 
in  tumulus  in  Cleveland,  248,  249  ;  in 
cairn  in  Orkney,  182-184  5  in  cave 
in  Salop,  23,  24 

of  horned  animals  found  in  buried 

ship,  25 

of  wolves  found  at  Bury  St.  Ed- 


mund's, I7>  18 

Skye  (Isle  of),  cairn  in,  171-176 

Skin  covering  over  skeleton  found  in 
barrow  at  Wareham,  9 

Skipsea,  remains  of  prehistoric  animal 
found  at,  13 

Slabs,  ornamented,  found  in  cave  in 
Ireland,  36 

Slaines,  cave  at,  306 

Smart  (J. ),  on  British  villages  in  North- 
umberland, 282 

Smith  (C.  Roach),  on  discoveries  in 
caves  near  Tilbury,  31,  32  ;  on  earth- 
work at  Walbury,  Essex,  273-275 ; 
on  Yorkshire  tumuli,   1 16,  1 17 

Somersetshire,  5f(?  "  Banwell,"  "Bath," 
"Burrington  Coomb,"  "Cole," 
"Pen,"  "Spaxton,"  "Taunton," 
"  Uphill  Hill,"  "  Weston  -  super- 
Mare  " 

South  Tawton,  Devon,  bronze  weapons 
found  at,  74 

South  Willingham,  Lincolnshire,  bea- 
con at,  279 

Spaxton,  cave  at,  306 

Spear,  iron,  found  with  skeleton  at 
Burrow  Hill,  135 


332 


Index. 


Spear,  with  rivets,  found  in  Dorsetshire 

I    barrow,  126 

Spear-head,  discovered  at  Northwold, 
129  ;  at  Weston-super-Mare,  143 

,  bronze,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 178  ;  in  tumuUis  at  Gristhorpe, 
154,  156,  159;  in  Lark  river,  73  ;  in 
Cambridgeshire,  73  ;  in  Rayne,  Essex, 
74  ;  in  Orkney,  182  ;  at  North  Charl- 
ton, Northumberland,  282  ;  on  Plyn- 
lymmon  Mount,  291  ;  at  Romford,  143 

,  flint,  found  in  Gristhorpe  tumulus, 

157 
,    stone,    found    near    Ripon,    60 ; 

in  tumulus  near  Scarborough,  162 
Spynie,  Loch  of,    near   Elgin,   ancient 

vessel  found  in,  55 
Stackhouse,  barrow  near,  1 51-154 
Staffordshire,    see    "Throwley,"  "Tip- 
ton" 
Stag's  horn,  found  in  cave  in  Durham, 

27  ;  near  Thorpe,  12,  13 
Stakes,     wood,      found    in    Yorkshire 

tumuli,  118 
"Stambers,"    tumuli    called,     Devon- 
shire, 266 
"Standing   stone,"    at    Danby   North 

Moor,    205 ;    in     North    Yorkshire, 

202 
Standlake,  Oxfordshire,  excavations  at, 

301-306 
"  Stang,"  as  a  prefix  in  place   names, 

170,  224 
Stannary  Courts  held  on  Croken  Tor, 

Devon,  284 
Stanton-Drew,  ancient  catacomb  found 

near,  22,  23 
Stirling,  tumulus  opened  near,  167,  168 
Stirlingshire,  see  "  Dunipace  " 
Stockton  (South),  submarine  forest  at, 

5>  40 

Stoke  (North),  ancient  boat  discovered 
in  sewer  near,  53 

Stone  arrow-heads  found  in  Britain 
called  elf  stones,  58 ;  in  tumulus  in 
Cleveland  district,  213 

axe,  found  in  tumulus  in  Caith- 
ness, 177;  in  tumuli  in  Cleveland 
district,  215,  238 

— —  beads,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 179 

chambers  in  Irish  tumuli,  294  ;  in 

Irish  caves,  295 

circles  on  hills  in  Cheviot  dis- 
trict, 2S9 ;  at  Coldrum,  Kent,  113; 
destroyed  in  Cornwall,  90 ;  dis- 
covered at  Extwistle,    166 ;  at  Win- 


terburn  Abbey,  Dorset,  98  ;  in  North 

Yorkshire,  202 
Stone  coffins  discovered  in  Mid-Calder, 

165,  166 
,  "  Druids',"  at  Danby  Moor,  209- 

217 
hammer  found  in   tumulus   near 

Scarborough,  162 

war  implement  found  in  Cumber- 


land, 59,  60  ;  at  Brimington,    59,  60  ; 
found  in  Forfarshire,  62,  63 
—   implements   found    in  Yorkshire 
tumulus,  121  ;  see  "Flint" 
-,  Ogham  inscribed,  in  Irish  earth- 


work, 293 
spear  found  near  Ripon,  60  ;  in 

tumulus  near  Scarborough,  162 
whorl,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 181 
Stonehenge,  tumuli  opened  near,  151 
Stones  found  in   Dorsetshire   barrows, 

107,  108,  109 
,  gallery  of,   found  in  Forfarshire, 

288 
in    encampments    at    Knaptoft, 

Leicestershire,  276-281 
used  as  witnesses  of  bargains  in 

Scotland,  2S7 

on  moot   hills  in   Scotland,    287 

(millstones)  found  at  Garthorpe, 

Leicester,  71 
,     round,     found     in    Dorsetshire 


barrows,  lOO,  loi 

,  standing,  at  Danby  North  Moor, 

205  ;  in  North  Yorkshire,  202 

Studland  Heath,  Dorset,  Agglestone 
barrow  on,  267-269 

Stukeley  (Dr.),  letter  from,  giving 
account  of  British  antiquities  found 
near  Chateris,  Isle  of  Ely,  86-88 

Suffolk,  see  "Bury  St.  Edmund's," 
"  Dunwich,"  "  Lark  River  " 

Surrey,  see  "  Frensham,"  "Shackle- 
ford" 

Sussex,  antiquities  in,  similar  to  those 
of  Dorsetshire,  96,  97 

.    see     "  Aklfriston,"     "Arundel," 

"  Burpham,"  "  Clayton  Wind- 
mill," "  Cuckfield,"  "  Hollingbury," 
"  Lewes,"  "  North  Stoke,"  "  Tilgate 
Forest,"  "Weald,"  "  Wolsonbury," 
"Worthing" 

Swanage,  petrified  land -tortoise  found 
at,  16 

Swinton,  tumulus  opened  near,  166,  167 

Switzerland,  corn  found  in  lake  dwel- 
lings in,  302 


Ifidex. 


Sword  found  in  grave  at  Biggleswade, 
123  ;  at  Beacon  Hill,  Carlisle,  124 

,  bronze,  found  in  Antrim,  74 ;  at 

Buildwas,  39;  found  near  Fulbourn, 
73  ;  in  river  Lark,  73 

and  spear  found  in  sepulchral  in- 
terments, 87 

Swords  discovered  at  North  wold,  139 

Symbols  on  stones  in  Norries  Law,  186  ; 
in  Perthshire,  193 

Tailby  (J.),  on   discoveries   at   Burrow 

Hill,  Leicestershire,  135,  136 
Taunton,  fossil  oak-tree  discovered,  5 
Teeth,  large  animal,  discovered,  10,  11 
■,  animal,  found  in  Yorkshire  cave, 


25 


-,  elephant's,  discovered,  13 

-,  fish,  found  in  Cleveland  district, 


242 

human,  in  jaw  found  at  Cambridge, 

19  ;    in    Cleveland    district,   245  ;  in 
Dorsetshire  barrows,  100,  105,  108 

Terrace  Cultivation  at  Yevering,  313 

Tetricus,  coin  of,  dug  up  at  Chelsea,  20 

Thankertonbridge,  oak-tree  found  in  the 
Clyde  at,  39 

Thorpe,  stag's  horns  discovered  near, 
12,  13 

Throwley  Hall,  tumulus  discovered 
near,  143-146 

Thumb-flint  discovered,  69 

Tilbury,  caves  near,  31,  32 

Tiles,  flooring  of,  in  tumulus  near  Swin- 
ton,  166,  167 

Tilgate  Forest,  Sussex,  remains  of  pre- 
historic animals  found  in,  14 

TiUidron,  Aberdeen,  hill  called  "hill 
of  right  "  at,  285 

Timber  foundations,  ancient,  39 

Tinwell,  near  Stamford,  cave  discovered 
at,  29 

Tipton,  Staffordshire,  fossil  tree  dis- 
covered at,  4 

"Tolmen,"  Constantine,  Cornwall,  268 

Tooth  and  tusks,  mammoth's,  found, 
18,  19 

Tortoise,  land,  petrified,  found  at  Swan- 
age,  16 

Traditions  in  Skye,  173-176  ;  of  stone 
called  "  Devil's  Night  Cap,"  267  ;  of 
origin  of  tumulus  in  Lincolnshire, 
280 ;  as  to  means  of  repairing  moot 
hills  in  Scotland,  286  ;  origin  of  bar- 
row at  Stackhouse,  152,  153 

Treasure,  buried,  dream  of,  41 

J  tumuli  supposed  to  contain,  226 


Tree,  portion  of,  discovered  in  Cleve- 
land district,  243 

,  elm,  40 

,  oak,  excavation  of,  39,  40 

,  fossil,  found,  4 

Trent  river,  mammoth's  tooth  found  in, 
18 

Trosley,  human  bones  found  at,  134 

Tumuli  at  Aggleston,  Dorset,  267-269  ; 
at  Aldfriston,  311  ;  in  Banffshire, 
186-188,  190,  191  ;  near  Bath,  139- 
142  ;  in  Beith,  189  ;  at  Bristol,  139  ; 
at  Burpham,  148;  in  Caithness,  177- 
181;  in  Cleveland,  165,  211,  241; 
at  Crosby  Carrot,  148,  149 ;  on 
Danby  Moor,  205,  206,  209 ;  in 
Phcenix  Park,  Duljlin,  196 ;  near 
Edinburgh,  191,  192;  in  Extwistle, 
166  ;  near  Grimsby,  136,  137  ;  near 
Gristhorpe,  Yorkshire,  81,  154- 161, 
163-165  ;  Ireland,  293-296  ;  at  Kib- 
worth,  136  ;  in  Lanarkshire,  191  ; 
at  Lewes,  147,  148  ;  in  Lincolnshire, 
279-281  ;  at  Morley,  Devonshire,  266; 
in  Perthshire,  192,  193  ;  near  Scar- 
borough, 161-165;  Stackhouse,  151- 
154;  near  Stirling,  167,  168;  Swin- 
ton,  166,  167  ;  near  Throwley  Hall, 
143-146;  called  "Turngate  Hill" 
in  Cleveland,  246  ;  in  Tyrone,  196, 
197;  at  Whittlesford,  S8-90  ;  in  York- 
shire, 114-123,  202;  in  Zetland,  188 

,  see  "  Cairn" 

Turner  (Dawson),  on  discoveries  of 
bones  at  Wood  Dalling,  137-139 

Turtle,  shell  of  marine,  found,  19 

Tyneside,  South,  large  animal  teeth 
discovered,  10,  11 

Tyrone,  tumulus  discovered  in,  196,  197 

Ulster,  tradition  of  last  wolf  shot  in,  8 
Upway    Downs,   Dorsetshire,    barrows 

opened  on,  106 
Urns  discovered  in  tumulus  in  Aber- 
deenshire, 189  ;  in  tumulus  at  Ald- 
friston, 311  ;  in  tumulus  in  Banffshire, 
190;  at  Berwick,  191;  near  Bury 
St.  Edmund's,  146  ;  in  tumuli  in 
Caithness,  177-179;  in  tumuli  in 
Cleveland  district,  165,  214,  215, 
216,  218,  220,  221,  222,  224,  225, 
226,  227,  228,  229,  230,  232,  233, 
234,  235,  236,  237,  238,  240,  247, 
248,  249,  255,  260,  262  ;  near  Col- 
leonard,  Banffshire,  76  ;  in  barrow 
on  Conquer  Down,  Cornwall,  92,  93 ; 
in  Dorsetshire  barrows,  loi,  102,  105- 


334 


Index. 


107,  108-109,  125,  126,  127,  128  ;  in 
cliff  at  Dunwich,  146  ;  in  Isle  of  Ely, 
87 ;  in  tumulus  at  Extwistle,  166 ; 
at  Fesmond,  139;  in  tumulus  near 
Grimsby,  136;  at  Lewes,  147;  in 
tumulus  at  Lymington,  132  ;  in  Mayo, 
196 ;  with  interment  at  Newcastle, 
139  ;  in  cairn  in  Northumberland, 
264  ;  in  tumulus  near  Scarborough, 
161,  162;  at  Shackleford,  146;  at 
vStandlake,  Oxfordshire,  301  ;  in  tu- 
mulus in  Tyrone,  196,  IQ7  ;  in  tumu- 
lus atWareham,  95;  at  Wood  Bailing, 
13S  ;  at  Yarnton,  303  ;  in  tumuli  on 
Yorkshire  Wolds,  114,  115,  117,  120, 
121,  122  ;  in  tumulus  in  Zetland,  188 
Urr,  Kircudbright,  moot  hill  at,  285 

Vale  Crucis  Abbey,  Denbighshire,  316 

Y'ase,  glass,  found  in  sepulchral  inter- 
ments, 88 

,  ornamented,  found  in  tumulus  at 

Cleveland,  250 

Vegetation,  fossil,  4-6 

Vessel,  bronze,  found  in  tumulus  at 
Whittlesford,  89 

,     ancient     oak,       see      "  Boat," 

"  Canoe" 

Villages,  British,  263,  264,  272,  282 

Vine  (Stephen),  on  similarity  of  an- 
tiquities in   Sussex  and    Dorsetshire, 

96,  97 
Vortimer,  tradition  of,   134 

Walbury,  Essex,  earthwork  at,  273-275 
Wales,  sepulchral  antiquities   in,    193- 

195 

,  see  "Cardiganshire,"  "Glamor- 
ganshire " 

Walker  (J.  K.),  on  discovery  of  hand- 
mill  at  Barkisland,  72 

Walled  chamber  in  a  mound  in  Corn- 
wall, 91,  92 

War  implement,  ancient  stone,  dis- 
covered, 62,  63 

,    found   in   buried   canoe,  56 ;   in 

cave,  22,  23 ;  in  Cumberland,  59, 
60 ;  at  Brimington,  59,  60 

"Ward"  hills,  name  for  moot  hills, 
287 

Wareham,  Dorsetshire,  opening  of 
King  Barrow  at,  94,  95  ;  of  barrow 
at,  126 

Warminster,  ear  of  corn  found  in  tumu- 
lus at,  302 

Warne  (C. ),  on  Dorsetshire  barrows, 
106-111 


W^aterford,  see  "  Ballylaneen  " 
Weald,  fossil  fish  found  in  the,  21 
Weapons  found  in  sepulchral  interments 
in  Isle  of  Ely,  87 

,   bronze,    found    near   Abingdon, 

75  ;  near  Attleborough,  74  ;  at  Chur- 
well,  74 ;  at  Copgrove,  Yorkshire, 
284  ;  near  Fulbourn,  73  ;  near  Hol- 
lingbury  Castle,  73  ;  in  river  Lark, 
73  ;  in  Loughgeel,  74 ;  at  Rayne, 
Essex,  74 ;  at  South  Tawton,  74 ; 
near  Sittingbourne,  74 
Weapon-ness,  lands  so  called  belonging 

to  Scarborough,  161 
Weaverthorpe,  Yorkshire,  excavation  of 

tumuH  at,  119- 121 
Well,    ancient,    discovered   near   Man- 
chester,  40,  41  ;   near  Whittlesford, 
88-90 
Welbeck  spring,  Lincolnshire,  281 
Welbeck  Hill,  earthwork  on,  280 
Wemyss,  near  Fife,  caves  near,  34,  35 
Westbury,  fossil  oak-tree  discovered  at, 

4 
Westerdale,  early  encampment  in,  204, 

206 
Westminster,   elm  -  tree   discovered  in, 

39,  40 

Westmoreland,  see  "  Crosby  Garrot" 

Weston-super-Mare,  excavations  at,  143; 
British  hill  fortress  near,  264 

Wheat,  charred,  discovered  at  Weston- 
super-Mare,  143 

Whitby,  Plesiosaurus  Dolochodeirus 
found  near,  19 

Whittlesford,  Cambridgeshire,  antiqui- 
ties discovered  at,  88-90 

Whorl,  bone,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 181 

— ■ — ,  stone,  found  in  tumuli  in  Caith- 
ness, 181 

Wight  (Isle  of)  see  "  Motteston," 
''  Northwood  " 

Willerby,  Yorkshire,  excavation  of 
tumuli  at,  122,  123 

Wilts,  tumuli  in,  302 

,  see  "Marlborough,"  "Nettle- 
ton,"  " Stonehenge,"  "Warminster," 
"Westbury" 

Winchester,  coffin  hewn  out  of  chalk 
found  at,  131 

Winford  Eagle,  Dorset,  British  antiqui- 
ties at,  104-106 

Winterton  Abbey,  circle  of  stones  at, 

Wirksworth,  Derbyshire,  skeleton  of 
rhinoceros  found,  16 


Index. 


335 


Wives,  sacrifice  of,  at  husbands'  funeral, 

145 

Wolds,  Yorkshire,  excavation  of  tumuli 
on  the,  116,  123 

Wolfardisworthy,  Devon,  stone  celt  found 
in,  63,  64 

Wolf,  bones  of,  found  in  cave  at  Ban- 
well,  27  ;  at  Chelsea,  20 

heads,  payment  of  tribute  by,  in 

England,  iS 

' skulls  and  bones  found  at  Bury  St. 

Edmund's,  17,  18 

Wold  Newton,  cemetery  discovered  near, 

136,  137 

Wolsonbury  Hall  camp,  human  skeleton 
found  at,  <  1 47 

Wolves  in  Ireland,  17th  cent.,  8 

Wood,  charred,  found  in  huts  on  Cheviot 
Hills,  289 

Wood  Dalling,  skeleton  and  animal 
bones  found  at,  137-139 

Wooden  coffin  in  Gristhorpe  tumulus 
155,  158,  see  "  Oak-tree" 

Woolmer  (S.),on  cave  remains  at  Black- 
don  Hills,  29-31 

Worle  Hill,  British  hill-fortress  at,  264 

Worthing,  ancient  boat  discovered  at, 

S}^  54 
Wright  (Tho.),  on  curious  forms  of  sepul- 
chral interment  in  Yorkshire,  82-86 

Yarnton,  Oxford,  British  burial-ground 
discovered  at,  302,  305 


Yattendon,  Berks,  cavern  discovered  at, 
26 

Yevering  Bell,  Northumberland,  hut 
circles  at,  264,  313-315 

Yew-tree,  excavation  of,  at  Stockton, 
40 

York,  bone  implements  found  in  High 
Ousegate,  64 

York,  exhibition  of  archceological  ob- 
jects at,  70,  71 

Yorkshire  Wolds,  flint  arrow-heads 
found  on,  65  ;  excavation  of  tumuli 
on,  116-123 

Yorkshire,  see  "Arras,"  "Atwich," 
"Beverley,"  "Bridlington,"  "Castle- 
ton,"  "  Churwell,"  "Cleveland," 
"Copgrove,"  "Dalton,"  "  Danby," 
"  Driffield,"  "  Duggleby  Wold," 
"  Canton  Hall,"  "Gardham,"  "Gris- 
thorpe," "  Guisborough  Moors," 
"Halifax,"  "ICirkdale,"  "Leeds," 
"  Market  Weighton,"  "  Mid-Calder," 
"Mid-Wold,"  "Newton  Mulgrave," 
"North  Shields,"  "Ripon,"  "Rose- 
"  bery  Topping,"  "Scarborough," 
"Seamer,"  "Selby,"  "  Skelton," 
"Skipsea,"  "  Stackhouse,"  "Stock- 
ton," "Swinton,"  "Thorpe,"  "Wea- 
verthorpe,"  "  Wellerby,"  "Whitby" 

Zetland,  tumulus  discovered  in,  188 
Zodiacal  symbols  on  tumulus  in  Perth- 
shire, 193 


Elliot  Stock,  Paternoster  Row,  London. 


GETTY  RESEARCH  INSTITUTE 


